Covering the story: The long view from a former — and recovering — breaking news reporter

Convicted triple murderer Jeremy Sagastegui died by lethal injection on Oct. 13, 1998, at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla. Sun-Times reporter Stefano Esposito covered the execution for his then-employer, the Tri-City Herald of Kennewick, Washington. (AP, file)

A few minutes after midnight on Oct. 13, 1998, I watched a man being put to death.

I remember the waiting — the endless waiting. Then the open-air walk in the chill of night from the waiting room to the watching room. The final fluttering of his eyelids.