Coronavirus Postpones Capital Gazette Shooting Trial

ANNAPOLIS, MD — The trial for the man charged with the Capital Gazette shootings was postponed because of court delays caused by coronavirus. The trial to determine the shooter's sanity is now scheduled for Dec. 7 to Dec. 18, according to court documents. Jury selection will take place on Dec. 1 through Dec. 3.

This is the fifth time the trial has been delayed, court records show. The trial was initially scheduled for January of 2019. It was most recently scheduled for June 2-23.

Previous setbacks were granted to evaluate the mental health of Jarrod Ramos, the defendant. Ramos initially pleaded not guilty, arguing he was not sane and thereby not responsible for the shooting. The judge ruled that Ramos was, in fact, legally sane.

Ramos had previously pleaded guilty to the murders, which prosecutors said were linked to his long-standing grudge against the paper for writing about a stalking conviction against him.

Ramos has pleaded guilty to all 23 charges against him. The most serious charges are five counts of first-degree murder. The other charges are for attempted murder, assault and various gun-related crimes.

On June 28, 2018, Ramos shot through the office doors of the Capital Gazette newsroom and killed journalists Robert Hiaasen, Wendi Winters, Gerald Fischman and John McNamara and advertising assistant Rebecca Smith. Six other Capital employees present during the attack survived.

Whether Ramos is sane — and therefore criminally responsible for the murders — is a question that attorneys on both sides have spent months preparing to answer. Ramos will face his plea of not criminally responsible at the trial in December.

In October 2019, Ramos pleaded not criminally responsible, which is Maryland's version of the insanity plea, and asked for the trial to be split into two parts, with the first trial designed to determine whether he committed the crime. Following his guilty plea, a second trial was scheduled to determine whether he was sane when he forced his way into the newspaper's office building and killed the staffers.

According to eyewitness accounts from survivors of the shooting, Winters armed herself with the closest weapons at hand – her trash and recycling bins – and charged the shooter, shouting for him to stop. It is believed that Winters' actions distracted the shooter so several of her coworkers had time to escape.

Doctors with the Maryland Department of Health determined Ramos to be sane. His mental health evaluation was ordered by Circuit Court Judge Laura Ripken. An expert hired by Ramos' attorneys said that after evaluating him, she believed he was not criminally responsible. But a doctor prosecutors hired, who has not been granted the opportunity to interview Ramos, conferred with the health department doctors and agreed with their assessment.

On the two-year anniversary of the shooting, Gov. Larry Hogan proclaimed June 28 Freedom of the Press Day, honoring the victims.

The state government recently dedicated $300,000 to construct a memorial to remember those who died. The memorial, called Guardians of Free Speech, will be built in Annapolis' Newman Park.

Related

• Slain Capital Gazette 'Hero' Deserves Medal Of Freedom: MD Reps
• Wife's Gut-Wrenching Essay On Husband's Death In Capital Shooting
• Mikulski Seeks Medal Of Freedom For Slain Capital Gazette Writer
• Attorneys For Accused Newspaper Shooter Want Trial Split In Half
• Ramos Must Turn Over Jail Treatment Records: Newspaper Shooting
• Mental Health Evaluation For Jarrod Ramos Has Been Sealed
• Capital Gazette Shooting Video To Be Shown In Murder Trial

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