Lawyers for the man accused of killing five people at the Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis, Maryland, say he is pleading an insanity defence.
Lawyers for Jarrod Ramos filed the plea of not criminally responsible by reason of insanity yesterday.
They said in the filing that Ramos is not criminally responsible “because of a mental disorder” in which he “lacked substantial capacity to appreciate the criminality of his conduct”.
Five people were shot dead in the Capital Gazette newsroom in June 2018.
Ramos was indicted on 23 charges following the attack, including murder. His trial is set for November.
The 39-year-old has been charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of editorial page editor Gerald Fischman, veteran journalist and columnist Rob Hiaasen, writer John McNamara, sales assistant Rebecca Ann Smith and special publications editor Wendi Winters.
Front page of Capital Gazette following attack on newsroom
Picture: Anne Arundel Police/Handout via Reuters
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