Behind the Headlines

The Herald-Leader’s coverage of a high-profile trial came under fire today from Fayette Circuit Judge Gary Payne, who criticized the newspaper for a story that ran on the first day of the trial of Taquan Neblett. Neblett was convicted of killing a Lexington music store employee, and the jury recommended the death penalty. After that conviction, things got messy, and a juror came under scrutiny for whether she was truthful in court about her knowledge of Neblett’s previous murder conviction. At a hearing today, Payne sentenced Neblett to life without parole for 25 years after Neblett’s defense attorneys withdrew their motion for a new trial. Payne also found the juror, Gayla Webb, to be in contempt of court, fined her $250 and ordered her to perform 60 hours’ community service.

During the hearing, Payne took issue with a Herald-Leader article that ran on page A1 on the first day of Neblett’s trial. The Herald-Leader often runs stories previewing high-profile murder trials. In this case, our story ran on the front page because four murder trials were scheduled to take place simultaneously downtown. This was a rare occurrence, and one that court reporter Brandon Ortiz and I thought was worth special notice. That article appeared under the headline “Stake out a courthouse parking space: More than 400 potential jurors will arrive for 4 murder trials.” The story then included short descriptions of each of the four trials. The Neblett trial was mentioned first because it was the highest-profile of the four. The story included the following lines of background information about the case:

“A special panel of 140 potential jurors was called for Neblett’s potential death penalty case, according to the court administrator’s office. He is accused of robbing Sami’s Music on South Limestone Street, shooting owner Sami Hajibrahim and killing employee Derek Elam on July 2, 2004. Neblett was paroled in 2003 after serving seven years in prison for murdering Louisville cab driver Russell Gilbert.”

It’s that final line that became an issue after the trial ended. And it’s that line that Payne, who did not mention the Herald-Leader by name, criticized during today’s hearing. Here’s some of what Payne said:

“There is freedom of the press, that’s why the judge did not get involved in the article because they can write about what goes on in court. However, i think the press has some responsibility. I think the court reporter for the press … should have known, and he probably did know, that should not have been mentioned about the previous conviction…

“The press, apparently, not only believes in the freedom of the press  — but what bothers the court in certain situations is the irresponsibility that goes with that. They have a responsibility just like everyone else. They ought to try to protect the integrity of the court. They should try to let the system work. They chose to put that one sentence in there, which they should not have. But I can’t stop that. That’s why we’re here today.”

Before Neblett’s trial, the juror was asked by Payne whether she had seen any pre-trial publicity or read the entire article. “No, ’cause it was too long and I didn’t have time,” Webb said at the time. “Just the part about find a place to park.” At a hearing after the trial, Webb testified that she did not read the entire article, but “skimmed” it. Defense attorneys for Neblett said that if Webb had answered truthfully that she read the entire article, she would have been struck from the jury.

At the Herald-Leader, we try to be sensitive when reporting on any story.We don’t always include information in stories about every previous conviction of a criminal defendant. But we do include such information when it is relevant or important. That was the case here.

The information about Taquan Neblett’s previous conviction was not new. It had been mentioned in Herald-Leader articles and editorials before, as well as in heavy TV and radio coverage of the crime and Neblett’s arrest. Along with the circumstances of the crime (a double shooting in the middle of the afternoon in a busy area near UK), the fact that Neblett had been convicted of murder before — and that he committed the shooting at Sami’s music while on parole for that previous killing — made the story, and his trial, especially newsworthy. That fact raised questions about why he was out on parole and how he so quickly found his way back into the criminal justice system. In other words, it was deeply relevant to this story.

It is impractical and unreasonable for courts to expect a newspaper to censor every shred of information that could possibly prejudice a jury pool. Of course, a defendant has a right to a fair trial. But the public also has a right to know what’s going on in the community and the criminal justice system.

Peter Baniak
Metro Editor