Gunman found criminally responsible for killing 5 at paper
A jury on Thursday found the gunman who killed five people at a Maryland newspaper criminally responsible for his actions, rejecting defense attorneys’ mental illness arguments.
The jury needed less than two hours to find that Jarrod Ramos could understand the criminality of his actions and conform his conduct to the requirements of the law when he attacked the Capital Gazette newsroom in 2018.
The verdict means Ramos, 41, will be sentenced to prison, not a maximum-security mental health facility, for one of the deadliest attacks on journalists in the U.S. Prosecutors are seeking five life sentences without the possibility of parole.
Survivors and family members of victims, some with tears in their eyes, embraced outside the courtroom and applauded prosecutors and jurors as they walked by after the verdict.
“Having this going on for three years, it’s been a never-ending nightmare,” said Cindi Rittenour, the sister of Rebecca Smith, who died in the attack. “And then hearing that today — just all my anxiety over it, all the wonderings, the unknowns, it’s all gone away now, and all I feel is just relief and happiness. I feel like my sister can finally start to rest in peace.”
Rachael Pacella, a reporter at the paper who survived the attack, said she was relieved to finally hear the verdict of criminally responsible.
“It’s been very stressful these past three years having this hanging over our heads, and it feels like a big weight has lifted,” Pacella said outside the courtroom.
Ramos already had pleaded guilty to all 23 counts against him in 2019 but pleaded not criminally responsible — Maryland’s version of an insanity plea.
The second phase of his trial was delayed multiple times, most recently because of the pandemic. The 12-day trial was largely a battle between mental health experts called by defense attorneys and prosecutors.