Guilty verdict in first Illinois trial broadcast live

KANKAKEE, Ill. — Jurors in Kankakee have found a 20-year-old man guilty of murder in the first trial in Illinois to feature live, gavel-to-gavel television coverage.

Demetrious Jones was found guilty Monday afternoon in Kankakee County. He was charged with the 2011 shooting death of 27-year-old Marcus Sanders. The trial is part of an Illinois Supreme Court experiment to lift long-standing camera bans in select courts. If it goes well in this and other trials, the policy could become permanent.

Supreme Court spokesman Joe Tybor has said a few witnesses at the northeastern Illinois trial asked not to appear on camera. He said while they testified camera operators kept their cameras on questioning attorneys.

CLTV, a partner of Chicago’s WGN-TV, broadcast the trial.