Pull to refresh
Logo
Jury convicts Jason Eaton of attempted murder in 2023 Burlington shooting

Jury convicts Jason Eaton of attempted murder in 2023 Burlington shooting

Rule Changes

Vermont man faces up to life in prison after insanity defense is rejected

Yesterday: Jury convicts Eaton

Overview

Updated 1 hour ago

A Burlington jury convicted Jason Eaton on three counts of attempted second-degree murder for shooting three Palestinian college students in November 2023. Jurors rejected Eaton's insanity defense after about two hours of deliberation.

Eaton, 51, faces up to life in prison at a sentencing hearing not yet scheduled. The shooting, weeks after the Gaza war began, left Hisham Awartani paralyzed from the waist down and wounded Kinnan Abdalhamid and Tahseen Ali Ahmad.

Why it matters

The case became a symbol of the Gaza war's spillover into American streets and tests how juries weigh mental illness against criminal responsibility.

Questions about this story

Free account needed to ask — your question is kept and asked for you right after sign-up. Answers are public.

No questions yet — be the first to ask.

Key Indicators

3
Attempted murder convictions
One count for each of the three students shot in November 2023.
2
Hours of jury deliberation
Jurors took about two hours to convict Eaton after a weeklong trial.
Up to life
Maximum sentence
Eaton awaits sentencing on a date not yet scheduled, with life in prison possible.

Voices

Curated perspectives — historical figures and your fellow readers.

Ever wondered what historical figures would say about today's headlines?

Sign up to generate historical perspectives on this story.

People Involved

Organizations Involved

Timeline

October 2023 September 2026

4 events Latest: Yesterday
Tap a bar to jump to that date
  1. Jury convicts Eaton

    Latest Verdict

    Jury convicts Eaton on three counts of attempted second-degree murder after about two hours of deliberation.

  2. Eaton arrested

    Arrest

    Police arrest Eaton a day after the shooting; he says "I've been waiting for you."

  3. Eaton shoots three students

    Incident

    Eaton approaches three Palestinian students on North Prospect Street and opens fire without speaking.

  4. Gaza war begins

    Context

    Hamas-led attack on Israel; Israeli military campaign in Gaza begins.

Scenarios

1

Eaton sentenced to life imprisonment

Likely Resolves by Mar 1, 2027

Discussed by: Prosecutors; Vermont Public reports Eaton faces up to life in prison

Judge John Pacht sentences Eaton to life in prison, the maximum for attempted second-degree murder in Vermont. The attack left Awartani paralyzed, and prosecutors emphasized the severity of the injuries and the forensic evidence tying Eaton to the shooting.

2

Eaton receives a determinate sentence of 20 years or less

Possible Resolves by Mar 1, 2027

Discussed by: Defense attorneys Margaret Jansch and Joshua O'Hara

Pacht weighs Eaton's documented psychiatric diagnoses, including bipolar and post-traumatic stress disorders, and his psychotic break two weeks before the shooting. A determinate sentence would give Eaton a release date while still holding him accountable for the attack.

3

Eaton appeals to the Vermont Supreme Court

Possible Resolves by Sep 1, 2027

Discussed by: Eaton's defense team, which sought to have him represent himself mid-trial

After sentencing, Eaton's lawyers file an appeal arguing the court wrongly denied his request to act as his own attorney and that the evidence did not establish intent to kill. Vermont appeals typically take one to two years to resolve.

Historical Context

2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

June 1982

John Hinckley Jr. trial (1982)

Hinckley shot President Ronald Reagan and three others outside a Washington hotel in March 1981. At his 1982 trial, psychiatrists disagreed about his mental state, and the jury found him not guilty by reason of insanity.

Then

Hinckley was confined to St. Elizabeths psychiatric hospital, where he remained for decades.

Now

The verdict prompted Congress and several states to tighten insanity defense standards, making such defenses harder to win.

Why this matters now

Eaton's defense rested on the same legal doctrine. The Burlington jury rejected it in about two hours, a reminder of how rarely insanity defenses succeed.

September 2001

Balbir Singh Sodhi murder (2001)

Four days after the September 11 attacks, Frank Roque shot and killed Balbir Singh Sodhi, a Sikh gas station owner in Mesa, Arizona, shouting anti-Arab slurs. Roque mistook Sodhi, who wore a turban, for a Middle Easterner.

Then

Roque was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death, later commuted to life in prison.

Now

The killing became a symbol of post-9/11 backlash violence against people perceived as Arab or Muslim, and it fueled calls for stronger hate crime laws.

Why this matters now

The Burlington shooting happened weeks after the Gaza war began, and the victims wore keffiyehs and spoke Arabic. As in the Sodhi case, the question of whether the shooter targeted his victims for their identity shaped public debate, even when hate crime charges were not filed.

Sources

(11)