(JTA) — Frazier Glenn Cross Jr., the white supremacist accused of fatal shootings at two Jewish sites in suburban Kansas City, Kan., was found competent to stand trial.
Cross, who also goes by the name Frazier Glenn Miller, can understand the charges against him and help his defense team, Johnson County District Court Judge Thomas Kelly Ryan said Thursday at a competency hearing.
Following the judge’s decision, Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe announced his intention to seek the death penalty.
Cross, 74 and in a wheelchair, said as he left the courtroom that “I had a right and a duty to do what I did,” and that Jewish people have committed genocide against whites, Reuters reported. He is being held on $10 million bond.
Cross is suspected of killing three people — two in the parking lot of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City in Overland Park, Kan., and one in the parking lot at Village Shalom, a Jewish assisted-living facility a few blocks away.
None of the three victims in the April 13 attacks were Jewish.
Cross, a former Ku Klux Klan grand dragon, was charged in April with capital murder and first-degree premeditated murder. The capital charge carries a death sentence; the premeditated murder charge could result in life in prison.
In November, he told the Kansas City Star, “I wanted to make damned sure I killed some Jews or attacked the Jews before I died.”
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
