Judge to limit psychiatrist’s testimony in 2018 newspaper shooting
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A psychiatrist retained by prosecutors in the sanity phase of a trial for a man who killed five people at a Maryland newspaper in 2018 isn’t barred by law from testifying about whether he believes the gunman was criminally responsible, but he can’t directly compare him to other mass shooters in an FBI report, a judge ruled Friday.
Judge Laura Ripken ruled at a pretrial hearing that Dr. Gregory Saathoff can testify before a jury about his findings relating to the criminal responsibility of Jarrod Ramos, even though Saathoff has not examined him in person.
The judge ruled last month that Saathoff could testify, but defense attorneys have been trying to limit the scope of what he can say on the stand. They contended the lack of an interview with Ramos should preclude the psychiatrist’s testimony on criminal responsibility.
The judge noted she would still need to make a determination during the trial that Saatoff is qualified and that he relied on information used by experts in the field to make his findings.
The judge said it was too soon for her to rule on other efforts by Ramos’ lawyers to restrict Saathoff’s testimony, because she has not seen all of the evidence.
The trial’s second phase is scheduled for December before a jury to determine criminal responsibility. If Ramos were found not criminally responsible for the shooting at the Capital Gazette newspaper, he would be committed to a maximum-security psychiatric hospital instead of prison.
Ramos pleaded guilty in October to 23 counts against him for killing Gerald Fischman, Rob Hiaasen, John McNamara, Rebecca Smith and Wendi Winters at the Capital Gazette. The attack was captured on surveillance video.