In Anne Arundel County Court on Monday, State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess recreated the scene that ended in the killings of five members of the Capital Gazette staff: Gerald Fischman, Rob Hiaasen, John McNamara, Rebecca Smith and Wendi Winters.
The hearing elicited tears from the many surviving colleagues, family members and friends in attendance.
The shooter, Jarrod Ramos pleaded guilty to the 23 counts of murder, attempted murder and assault. The Capital Gazette's parent company, Baltimore Sun Media, expressed relief at the plea in a statement. Annapolis Mayor Mayor Gavin Buckley said he was relieved that the victims’ families and the survivors were “spared the agony of a trial with this admission of guilt.”
The next stage of the process has been delayed due to determinations of criminal responsibility, Maryland's version of an insanity plea.
"It's defiance just to be alive right now," said Capital Gazette reporter Seline San Felice outside the courthouse. "When I sat in that room today, I realized I have to live not just for myself and the fact that I want to live but that I need to live in order to prove all those people wrong. Because what I do is important. And what we all do is important. And I never want to stop doing that."
Read the editorial board's statement on the hearing here: "There is no justice for the dead. We hope it helps the living." Earlier, Editor Rick Hutzell wrote a piece on Pulitzer.org reflecting on the award and his staff's journey:
We were awarded the prize, and the unprecedented $100,000 award that came with it, because of the dedication and the work that started on the afternoon of June 28, and continued June 29 and the many days after that.
Our colleagues were there in our minds and our hearts as we walked up to that stage and accepted the award. They were there in the faces of three important guests on our trip, John’s wife, Andrea; Wendi’s daughter, Winters; and Gerald’s wife, Erica.
It was raining when we arrived in New York. There was work to do on the way back to Annapolis.
We dedicate the award and the work that comes afterward to those who are gone.
In April, the Pulitzer Prizes recognized the Capital Gazette with a Special Citation and $100,000 bequest "to honor the journalists, staff and editorial board of the Capital Gazette, Annapolis, Maryland, for their courageous response to the largest killing of journalists in U.S. history in their newsroom on June 28, 2018, and for demonstrating unflagging commitment to covering the news and serving their community at a time of unspeakable grief."