Artist Bill Hennessy Jr., whose sketches brought courtroom drama to life, dies at 67

Kate Ryan | kryan@wtop.com
December 12, 2024, 4:58 AM

For over 40 years, artist William Hennessy Jr. went where cameras couldn’t go and captured drama from the Supreme Court to circuit and district courts across D.C., Maryland and Virginia. ... His family notified news organizations Wednesday that Hennessy, of Ashburn, Virginia, died Monday, Dec. 9, which was his birthday. He was 67.

A statement from his family relayed the breadth of Hennessy’s work capturing the atmosphere in court cases from Iran Contra to the White House CIA leak “and countless other high-profile cases” and noted, “His evocative sketches provided the public with a unique window into courtroom dynamics.”

CBS News congressional correspondent Scott MacFarlane, who worked alongside Hennessy in some of those high-profile cases, told WTOP he was “the fastest and the best” courtroom artist in the industry, perfectly capturing a suspect’s body language, a prosecutor’s dramatic flourish and more. ... “Bill could do it faster than you could microwave your dinner,” MacFarlane said.


An artist rendering shows Texas billionaire, R. Allen Stanford, second from left, is flanked by his attorneys Christina Sarchio, left, and Maria Jankowski, second from right, during a hearing at Federal court in front of U.S. Magistrate M. Hannah Lauck in Richmond, Va., Friday, June 19, 2009. Prosecutor Steven Tyrrell is at right. (AP Photo/William J. Hennessy Jr.)

In an age when capturing images is as easy as pulling a mobile phone from a pocket, Hennessy’s work was invaluable to television news outlets.

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Kate Ryan
As a member of the award-winning WTOP News, Kate is focused on state and local government. Her focus has always been on how decisions made in a council chamber or state house affect your house. She's also covered breaking news, education and more.

kryan@wtop.com
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