For the past week and a half, most of Knoxville has been tuned in to the trial of Letalvis Cobbins, the first of four to be tried for the kidnapping, rape and murder of a Knoxville couple, Channon Christian and Chris Newsom. Myself, along with many others in the community, were tuned in 100% to the trial…more than I had ever followed any trial.

Why? Aside from the fact that all of Knoxville hates Cobbins and was patiently awaiting his conviction, the use of Twitter by reporters made it easy for us to follow every detail of the court proceedings.

No longer are the times when you have to sit in front of a TV all day to know exactly what’s going on in court. In this case, I just used the #c-n hashtag to follow everything. News Sentinel reporter, Jamie Satterfield tweeted minute-by-minute, and gave those of us who didn’t have the ability to watch the trial on TV a view into the proceedings. While at the office, I could glance at Tweetdeck through the day and know exactly what was happening.

Twitter is truly revolutionizing how we get our news. Everything is easy and in real time. We don’t have to rely on individual news articles that sometimes lack the very specific details. By following something such as a trial via Twitter, we are able to easily receive every little detail.

While it’s clear that I support Twitter in the courtroom, what do you think? Is this a good new trend? Or should social media stay out of the courtroom?

(On a related note, my thoughts and prayers are with the Christian and Newsom families. This post is in no way meant to make light of the terrible crimes committed against Channon and Chris. I think all of Knoxville is praying that these animals will pay for what they’ve done. Rest in peace, Channon and Chris.)