Jason Eaton asks court for a new trial

Attorneys for a man convicted of attempting to kill three young men of Palestinian descent are asking a Vermont judge to grant their client a new trial. In a motion filed last month, they argue media coverage tainted Jason Eaton’s trial, and that jurors failed to follow court instructions during deliberations.

A jury in September found Eaton guilty of attempted second-degree murder for the 2023 shooting. He faces up to life in prison, and is scheduled for sentencing in January. Eaton has been held in prison since his arrest.

Public defenders Margaret Jansch and Joshua O’Hara wrote in their motion that Eaton’s case was frequently covered by Vermont news outlets in the years leading up to his trial. That coverage often portrayed Eaton in a negative light, they said, including writing about past allegations of domestic abuse and using pictures of Eaton in prison garb.

“Nothing flattering was ever said in print or other media about Mr. Eaton,” the attorneys said in the motion. “The jury’s affirmations that it could be fair and impartial, therefore, cannot be taken blindly at face value. The media coverage of the case negatively impacted their ability to be fair and impartial, even if they were not consciously aware of it.”

Jansch, in an email, declined to comment on the motion.

Eaton’s attorneys also argued that jurors’ questions to the court during their deliberations showed they failed to follow court instructions.

The jury sent two notes to the judge during deliberations. In the first note, jurors asked to see a copy of the DSM-5, a manual used to classify and diagnose psychiatric disorders, according to court records. In the second note, they asked several questions about religious delusions.

During the trial, Eaton’s attorneys argued that he was legally insane at the time of the shooting and believed government agencies directed him to carry out the attack. Their expert witness, who determined Eaton was insane, made one reference to religious delusions during his trial testimony, but no mental health evaluations diagnosed Eaton with a religious delusion, his attorneys said in the motion.

The jurors’ requests indicated they were trying to diagnose Eaton and were considering ideas outside the scope of the trial, his attorneys argue. The motion also cites an article published by the Hinesburg Record, in which a juror said the jury considered religion during deliberations.

Prosecutors filed a motion this week to argue that Eaton is not entitled to a new trial. Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George said in the motion that during jury selection, neither party had trouble finding people who said they hadn’t been following news coverage of the case.

Additionally, the defense didn’t provide any evidence that jurors were being untruthful when asked if they were familiar with the case, George said in the motion.

“Mr. Eaton simply argues that his case was covered extensively by the media ergo he was unable to get a fair trial in Chittenden County,” George said.

Paul Heintz

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Boston Globe

As for the jurors’ questions, George argued that there was no evidence they were improperly considering evidence. They asked for the DSM-5 because it was referenced during the trial, she said, but the judge told them they could only consider “the evidence that was part of the record and played back what was discussed.”

And while the court didn’t define religious delusion for the jury, George noted that during the trial, Eaton offered evidence he might be suffering from one, including that he prayed and asked God to send him a message before shooting the victims.

“Since there was testimony that mentioned religious delusion, and significant evidence from Mr. Eaton himself about his thoughts on God, his prayer and his faith, the Court’s response to the jury question was an accurate reflection of the law,” George said.

A judge hasn’t ruled on Eaton’s motion for a new trial. Eaton is set to appear in court on Jan. 13 for his sentencing hearing. George has not said what sentence she’ll seek.