The more time I spend in the J-School, the more I believe that Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood should be required reading.

The novel forced me to analyze my view on the death penalty. While I was utterly devastated for the victims, their friends, the community and the police, I somehow was sympathetic toward the murderers themselves. That’s Capote’s magic in the book. Its beautiful non fiction that delves deeply into multiple facets of the case. He puts a face and personality behind the victims and then you meet the killers, who you get to know as well.

Clearly, I am a huge fan of this novel. I have only read it once, but I am considered to revisit it once I can muster up the emotional strength.

In Cold Blood is the epitome of great reporting. I look to it as an example of not rushing to judgement and telling the whole story from start to finish. For Capote, the story ended when the two men were executed. Telling the whole story also encompasses the different angles. In horrific crimes, the focus sometimes becomes the killer. It’s human nature. We want to know why someone would do something so terrible. However, the story of the victims doesn’t always get told with the focus on the killer.

Capote offers a glimpse into the mind of a killer. It’s a scary portrait because we see their struggles as well as their capacity for evil. This glimpse just shows the complexity behind human actions. Nothing is cut and dry.

If only all journalists had the time and the resources to spend years reporting!

While we don’t have Capote’s resources, we can always strive to attain the same depth and complexity as he did.