Jason Eaton trial focuses on insanity defense in Vermont shooting

The attempted murder trial of Jason Eaton, 51, entered its fourth day in Burlington, Vermont, as the defense presents an insanity plea. Eaton is accused of shooting three Palestinian college students—Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdalhamid, and Tahseen Ali Ahmad—in November 2023. While all three survived, Awartani was left paralyzed from the waist down.

Defense attorneys played a recording of a conversation with Eaton held shortly after the incident. In the recording, Eaton claimed he was receiving instructions through an FM radio from the CIA and other sources. He stated that one of the voices instructed him to ‘Go stop them now’ as the students approached his home.

Dr. Fabian Saleh, a forensic psychiatrist from Johns Hopkins Hospital, testified that Eaton was legally insane at the time of the attack. Saleh stated that Eaton was operating under the delusional belief that his actions were legal and authorized. Conversely, prosecution experts argue that Eaton’s behavior is driven by narcissism and a lack of empathy rather than legal insanity.