Court hearing reminds news folks to expect the unexpected
One of our reporters, Jody Barr, just got back from Conway, where he attended this afternoon’s court hearing for Edwin Cornelius, the suspect in last year’s stabbing death of Natalia Holmes outside Carolina Forest High School.Going into the day, we expected Cornelius to enter a guilty plea in the case, so we planned on that story being our lead tonight at 5:00 and 6:00. But, as is often the case when it comes to court hearings, all we really should have expected is the unexpected.
That’s what we got.
Jody tells me after repeatedly telling the judge in the case that he understood the charges against him, as well as the penalties he faced for admitting guilt, Cornelius went into a long, rambling diatribe about his love for Holmes. That apparently led the judge to decide that the plea agreement wasn’t the best way for justice to be served in the case. So, he refused to accept the agreement, and ordered Cornelius to stand trial.
It just one more example of how in the news business, no matter what we think we know, we really don’t know what's going to happen until it ACTUALLY happens.
It sounds like a line from Yogi Berra, but it really is true. Managing news is a lot like trying to herd cats – you think you’ve got it all figured out, and then, BAM! - the unexpected hits.
It’s crazy – but it’s one of the things I actually love about this business, the fact that every story is unique and you never know what twist or turn lies ahead.
Posted by on 09/13 at 03:51 PM
