Troy Davis execution raises questions about episodic coverage of death penalty

Coverage of the death penalty is episodic, with journalists converging at the most dramatic moments — when an execution is imminent — to offer updates and last-minute explanation and context on issues that deserve a fuller, more frequent treatment. As an execution nears, journalism’s focus is appropriately on the specifics of that situation: the legal drama, the crimes and evidence, the families. But a brief mention or count of protesters outside the prison does an injustice to the facts and deeply-held beliefs that belong in a civic discussion of the death penalty. When do journalists give that discussion the time and space it deserves? The Storify below captures the related journalistic issues that arose Wednesday night as Troy Davis faced death.