A judge ordered on Tuesday that Jarrod Ramos, the 41-year-old man who opened fire in an attack at a Maryland newspaper three years ago that killed five journalists, will spend the rest of his life in prison.
Ramos took a gun to the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Md., in June 2018 and began indiscriminately firing at employees inside. Prosecutors said at trial that the attack was revenge for a story the paper published about him harassing a former classmate a decade ago. Ramos pleaded guilty in 2019 to five counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted first-degree murder, six counts of first-degree assault and 11 counts of using a firearm in a felony crime of violence.
Ramos’ attorneys argued at trial that he should not be held criminally responsible due to mental illness. On Tuesday, Ramos was sentenced to five life sentences without the possibility of parole, plus 345 years. Judge Michael Wachs said before sentence: “To say the defendant showed a callous and cruel disregard for the sanctity of human life is simply an understatement. What I impose is what the defendant deserves.”