Telegraph apologizes for running photo of juror during Bibb County murder trial
On Aug. 12, The Telegraph published an article that inadvertently included a photo of a juror taking part in a Bibb County murder case.
The photo, taken in Bibb County Superior Court while two of our journalists covered the murder trial of Jaylen Smith and Jordan Mullis, was published after opening arguments. The photo appeared online and in our online Edition, as well as on a news partner’s website.
The Telegraph understands that taking photos or recordings of jurors in Georgia courts violates state court rules. The Telegraph and its journalists regret the photo was published.
ln response to an order from Superior Court Judge Jeffery Monroe, the journalists and a senior editor appeared before the judge on Aug. 20. In the hearing, the journalists acknowledged their mistake, apologized to the juror, the judge and all other participants in the trial.
The Telegraph made concerted efforts to remove the photo from publication as quickly as possible once the court alerted staff to the issue. The photo was removed from our website, our online Edition, and the news partner’s website the morning of Aug. 13. It never appeared in our print newspaper.
The Telegraph understands that juror anonymity is a crucial part of the judicial process, and the identification of members of the jury can cause significant issues in that process.
Nonetheless Judge Monroe ordered The Telegraph to publish an apology and for both Telegraph journalists to pay a fine of $300.
The Telegraph’s reporters, visual journalists and editors will take greater care to ensure this does not happen again. We owe that to our readers and to our community, along with transparency when we make an error.
– Jeremy Chisenhall, Georgia editor