Opening statements in the second phase of the trial are scheduled for Tuesday.
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Three years after the deadliest attack on a newsroom in U.S. history, residents who were shaken by the assault on their local newspaper that killed five people are hopeful that an end to the gunman’s dragging court case is finally near. Opening statements in the second phase of a trial are scheduled for Tuesday to determine whether Jarrod Ramos was legally sane at the time of the mass shooting. Jury selection was completed Friday in the case against Ramos, who called 911 moments after the rampage from inside the newsroom, identified himself as the shooter and said he surrendered. He was later arrested lying face down under a desk. Ramos pleaded guilty to all 23 counts against him in October 2019, but he is contending he’s not criminally responsible due to mental illness. Ray Feldmann, who knew some of the victims as well as survivors, remembers driving out of his neighborhood on June 28, 2018 and seeing a swarm of police and emergency vehicles converged around the newspaper’s office, blocks from his home. Now, he says the attack lives in his memory with a magnitude comparable to his recollections of historic events like the 9/11 attacks and the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. “It’s just hard,” Feldmann said in a recent interview. “The three-year anniversary is coming up in a few days, and there still hasn’t been a trial. I think it does weigh on people.” The difficulty of the case was evident during jury selection, as potential jurors described how hard it would be to view evidence, while others described connections they had with their local newspaper. Juror 14 sobbed in court, as Judge Michael Wachs asked her follow-up questions after she indicated she would have trouble watching a video recording during the trial of the attack inside the newsroom that shows victims being shot. “I cannot handle it,” she said through a mask, choking up in court, before the judge dismissed her from the jury pool.
