Public defenders didn’t miss cameras in courtroom

During Alyssa Bustamante hearing

Sunday, February 12, 2012

As many Mid-Missourians noticed, no cameras or audio recorders were allowed during last week’s sentencing hearings for Alyssa Bustamante, who pleaded guilty last month to killing neighbor Elizabeth Olten, 9, on Oct. 21, 2009.

And her public defenders were happy with the lack of those media tools.

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“In cases as emotional as this one, cameras encourage behavior that would not otherwise occur from lawyers, families, staff, etc.,” Public Defender Don Catlett wrote in an e-mail.

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