Recently I was called in by Minneapolis station KSTP-5 to sketch for another murder trial. Ronald Reed, a former Black Panther, was finally convicted of killing a Minneapolis police officer, a crime he committed 30 years ago.

I’m never really satisfied with my courtroom sketches because I have to bang them out so fast (these were all done in one day). Sometimes you get a good seat with a clear view, sometimes not. Plus you never know if a witness will be on the stand for five hours or five minutes, so you have to draw fast. Still, it’s a fascinating way to make a few extra bucks.

The defense (Reed is second from left). In retrospect I should have left out the security guard for clarity:

This witness was hard to draw:

The witness listens to a 911 call she made 30 years ago that wound up luring the policeman to his death:

This former Black Panther was obviously not happy to be on the stand:

I’ve been called in twice this week to do courtroom sketching for a local murder trial. Normally I enjoy this kind of work, but for this trial I’ve spent the majority of my time staring at an empty courtroom while the judge and lawyers debate behind closed doors. That’s left me with a lot of time to sketch the backgrounds, but precious few minutes to insert the people. After two days I’ve actually seen people in the courtroom for a total of about 30 minutes. I drew as rapidly as I could (with somewhat sloppy results), then after the trial I went into an empty boardroom across the hall to add the color. These two drawings are all I’ve been able to do so far. Hopefully better drawings will come soon.

Before the courtroom opened I chatted for a few minutes with a friend of the defendant who came all the way up from Chicago to support him. It reminded me that even accused murders are still human beings with families and friends that care about them. We are all made in God’s image, and no matter what evil we may have done we are still people that Jesus died to save.

Recently a local TV station hired me as a courtroom sketch artist for a school shooting trial (full story here). Today was the last day of the trial. Family members testified about how the murders had affected them, and then the judge gave his sentence. It was gut wrenching to watch.

Courtroom sketching is a fascinating experience. I never know how long someone will be on the stand so I have to draw extremely fast. The challenge is to think of interesting ways to draw people who are basically just sitting around talking to each other in a very formal and emotionless manner (it’s not as dramatic as those courtrooom TV shows). Usually the news truck outside needs a couple of drawings by 10:30am (for the noon newscast), and the rest by about 3:30pm in time for the 5:00 news. It’s a lot of pressure but also a fascinating experience.

I’m always frustrated with how my courtroom drawings turn out because they are completed in such a rush. But considering the time crunch I think these sketches turned out ok. Except for the drawings of the shooter. I was seated almost directly behind him, so it was difficult to get a view of his face. I was there for a total of three days over the course of the trial. Here are some of the better sketches.

The teacher who apprehended the shooter demonstrates how the gun was held:

The vitims’ families:

A grieving mother reads a statement:

A grieving father reads a statement:

A grieving mother reads a statement. She holds a rock from a mountain top, which had symbolic meaning for her:

The shooter’s mother pleads for leniency:

The judge gives his sentence: