Last month, I found myself scratching my head – and not for the first time – that no cameras were in the courtroom to allow Oklahomans to witness the sentencing of restaurant owner Brent Swadley.
Public interest was high, as Swadley had recently been convicted by a jury of defrauding the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department by generating fake invoices. A jury recommended he be sentenced to 10 years in prison and pay tens of thousands in fines. But it would ultimately be up to an Oklahoma County judge to decide his fate.
While the courtroom was packed with spectators, one thing was noticeably missing — cameras and recording devices…