ANNAPOLIS, Md. (CN) — A Maryland jury on Thursday found Capital Gazette shooter Jarrod Ramos criminally responsible for the 2018 killing of five journalists, rejecting defense attorneys’ claims that mental illnesses preventing him from understanding the criminality of his actions.
Ramos has already admitted to killing five Gazette staffers – Gerald Fischman, Rob Hiaasen, John McNamara, Rebecca Smith and Wendi Winters – but asserted an insanity defense.
Jurors deliberated for less than two hours after closing arguments Thursday. Their finding of criminal responsibility means Ramos will spend the remainder of his life in prison rather than a state mental institution.
After the verdict, Anne Colt Leitess, the Anne Arundel County state’s attorney, thanked first responders and the gathering of victims' relatives and survivors, who also spoke briefly.
“I think this quick verdict shows the thoroughness of the state’s preparation in rebutting the defense’s case” Leitess said.
She added, “The state showed that he was criminally responsible, that even though he may in fact have had a mild personality disorder he knew what he was doing. His conduct was wrong, he appreciated the criminality.”
Andrea Chamblee, McNamara’s widow, said she hoped media members would reflect on the relatives affected by the shooting and called for stricter gun regulations.
“It could happen anywhere as long as dangerous people have access to firearms,” Chamblee said. “I call on our government officials to protect us as well as they protect themselves.”
Initial proceedings were delayed due to Covid-19’s impact on the U.S. judiciary. Courts around the country slowed their operations due to the virus and the Anne Arundel County courtroom used for Ramos’ trial was reconfigured to provide jurors and court staff adequate space to social distance.
The credibility of witnesses for both prosecutors and public defenders representing Ramos were called into question by both sides during closing arguments. A total of eight medical professionals who evaluated Ramos’ mental capacity took the stand over the course of the trial that began in late June.
Matthew Connell, one of three of Ramos’ public defenders, told jurors during closing arguments that mental illness is “a real thing,” and explained that the admitted killer’s perception of reality wasn’t in accordance with rational thought.
The majority of his closing statement revolved around the credibility of a state witness: Dr. Gregory Saathoff. Connell said Saathoff had a “niche practice” in which the University of Virginia professor provides expert testimony in mass shooting cases. Saathoff has also testified before the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate about mental deficiencies that impact or influence mass shooting events.
The defense attorney also characterized Dr. Sameer Patel – another state psychologist who took more than 200 pages of notes during 20 hours of interviews with Ramos – as a witness who exhibited bias. Connell called into question the credibility of his report after Patel became visibly emotional while describing Ramos’ recollection of committing the murders.
Connell showed jurors a photo of Ramos’ cat Tiger, who defense experts like Dr. Dorothy Lewis testified was his last attachment to his sanity. The public defender used visual aides to illustrate the multitude of mental disorders experts had diagnosed Ramos as having, hand-drawing Venn diagrams to compare symptoms.
“Mental illness may be hard to define, but you know it when you see it,” Connell told jurors. “You don’t need to be a doctor to know what’s wrong with Mr. Ramos.”
Leitess, the state’s attorney, peppered her closing arguments with slides and visual aids, including chess pieces on the header of one slide that read, “In chess, you have to think many moves ahead of your opponent.” Leitess drew jurors’ attention to Ramos’ planning of the attack years in advance and referenced through a lifetime membership to the U.S. Chess Federation he had purchased in the days before the shooting.
Leitess showed jurors testimony from Lewis, a defense witness who referred to psychological opinions not included in her 10-page report and testified about events from Ramos’ life that she had no additional evidence on.
The prosecutor said Lewis’ confusion over multiple portions of her report – testifying to uncorroborated statements that Ramos had difficult paternal and maternal relationships – made her a reckless expert in an extremely important case.
She further argued public defenders did not tell a cohesive narrative. Ramos’ attorneys had tried to paint him as someone whose mental illnesses were only visible if his delusions were disturbed, but Leitess said they had also portrayed him as a “raving madman” who talks about zombie viruses and eats off the floor.
She said it was clear Ramos understood the criminality of his conduct when he called a 911 operator to say the attack was over.
“He knew what he was doing, and he could conform his behavior,” Leitess told jurors. “That’s the end of the story, ladies and gentlemen.”
Follow Jack Rodgers on Twitter
Subscribe to Closing Arguments
Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.
