Capital Gazette: Justice is a concept for the living
The man charged with the murder of Rob Hiaasen, Gerald Fischman, Wendi Winters, John McNamara and Rebecca Smith dropped the pretense that he is innocent last week.
It was a legal fiction designed to make sure he would receive the due process owed him under the Constitution. Through Circuit Court Judge Laura Ripken’s careful questioning, he acknowledged that he understood what he was doing, he was not under the influence of alcohol and that he was satisfied that he had been represented well by his team of defense lawyers.
There was never any chance that this moment of reckoning would not arrive. The man was discovered by police hiding under a desk, just moments after he called 911 and told a confused operator that he had obliterated five lives.
He, according to a recitation of the evidence in court following his plea, identified himself this way: “This is your shooter.”
From that moment on June 28, 2018, in a shattered Annapolis newsroom to the hearing Monday afternoon in the Anne Arundel County courthouse, he was innocent until proven guilty. Today, in the eyes of the law, he is a murderer.
A second hearing will determine whether this man was responsible for his actions. Ajudge or jury — he gets to pick — will determine if he is criminally responsible. He has claimed he is not by reason of insanity.
We will reserve opinion on that. It is the court system’s place to decide, not ours.
So, was justice served? Will it matter whether this man serves the remainder of his life in prison or a secure psychiatric hospital?
Justice is a concept for the living. It does not matter to Rob, Gerald, Wendi, Rebecca or John what the man who killed them said Monday. They are beyond caring.
There is no justice for the dead.
If there were, then this man’s carefully examined admission — that he plotted the death of five people and then executed them — would magically result in their being restored to life.
Details were revealed in court that those familiar with the case had never heard before. He stalked the newsroom, taking photos and creating a list of “high priority” targets, according to the prosecutor.
Those who died were loved and loved in turn. They were reporters and editors, mothers and fathers, daughters and sons. They had hopes and leave dreams unfulfilled. Their lives have meaning and will be remembered.
The life of the man who admitted murdering them, in the end, is meaningless. He should be forgotten.
Perhaps justice will make this violent loss easier to bear for those who lost colleagues, friends and family. Maybe it will be easier for Annapolis.
We have our doubts. But this moment was always coming. Justice has been served.