ANNAPOLIS, Md. — As Anne Arundel County nears the anniversary of the deadly Capital Gazette mass shooting and the second phase of the shooter's trial, a state and local coalition prepares to unveil a memorial to the victims.
Located near the City Dock in downtown Annapolis, the "Guardians of the First Amendment" memorial is set to be unveiled Monday morning, three years to the day of the shooting.
Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman says it will feature "a wall with the words of the First Amendment inscribed on it."
"There are five pillars representing the five heroes that we lost in the newsroom," he added.
The 2018 Capital Gazette shooting claimed the lives of five newspaper staffers: Rob Hiaasen, Wendi Winters, Rebecca Smith, Gerald Fischman and John McNamara.
Funding for the memorial was a group effort.
"It was the brainchild of the Caucus of African American Leaders. Its convener, Carl Snowden, came up with the idea, started raising private money," said Pittman. "The vision got bigger and bigger. We stepped up with county money. The state stepped up with some money and the city stepped up."
The county executive hopes the memorial offers visitors a chance to reflect on what happened.
"The people we lost...they were our heroes," he said.
The unveiling--and the anniversary of the shooting--come just before the second phase of confessed shooter Jarrod Ramos' trial is set to being.
Ramos pleaded guilty to all 23 counts against him in 2019. However, he has pleaded not criminally responsible due to his mental health.
This week, the trial to determine whether he was insane when he opened fire will begin.
The jury's verdict could decide whether the 41-year-old spends the rest of his life in prison, or is committed to a psychiatric hospital.
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