family Noun
Cheshire Appeal Will Point to Twitter
There were half a dozen of them typing away in the courtroom rows .
Minute by minute , they sent out reports of gruesome testimony via Twitter .
In the end , the defense says , there were more than 140,000 Twitter messages about the trial that dealt with rape and children tied to their beds in a house that was set ablaze .
On Thursday , the widely followed trial of Steven J. Hayes , who was convicted of killing three members of a Cheshire , Conn. , family , is set to come to an official end with the judge 's imposition of the death sentence voted for by the jury .
But lawyers for Mr. Hayes have already made court filings that sketch out appeals arguments that are likely to occupy the courts for years .
One of the most provocative is that the intense reporting on the trial - including mainstream reporters ' extensive use of Twitter - created a “ circus atmosphere ” and such widespread , instant saturation with inflammatory details that the jury was improperly swayed by public passions .