Jury convicts Jewish center shooter in Kansas

OLATHE, Kan., Sept. 1 (UPI) -- A Kansas jury on Monday convicted F. Glenn Miller Jr. of murdering three people outside two Jewish facilities in Overland Park, Kan. in 2014.

The jury also found him guilty of attempted first-degree murder for shooting at other individuals April 13, 2014, outside the Jewish Community Center and the Village Shalom retirement community.

Miller shot William Corporon, 69, and his grandson, Reat Underwood, 14, in Overland Park. Later, Miller shot Terri LaManno, 53, outside the retirement community. Miller was also found guilty of aggravated assault and of discharging a firearm in an occupied building.

The jury deliberated for less than two hours before convicting the 74-year-old man, who is an avowed anti-Semite. He responded to the verdict by performing a Nazi salute and saying "sieg heil."

During the court proceeding, Miller acted as his own attorney, arguing that the shootings were justified because he was trying to stop the "Jewish genocide against the white race."

Miller's victims were Christians, though.

The penalty phase of Miller's trial was scheduled to begin Tuesday.

Throughout the trial, Miller interrupted the court proceedings multiple times, protesting the instructions the jury received from the prosecution. In one instance, when the jury was instructed that a homicidal act should carry the same consequences even if the victim is not the target, Miller questioned whether former President George Washington should be held responsible for the accidental deaths caused by the Revolutionary War.

Upon being told of his sentencing date for the non-capital offense charges by the judge, Miller said he'd rather be on death row than sit around the courtroom.

During his closing remarks, Miller also said that he was willing to die alone as a martyr for a cause that he has been fighting since 1967. He said he initially did so peacefully by running for office five times, self-publishing a book in 1999 and establishing a white supremacy party. Prosecutors objected to his remarks multiple times as they veered off into unrelated topics such as the causes of World War II.

Miller also said that he was overjoyed after committing the homicides.

"I felt like a ton of bricks had lifted from my shoulders and for the first time in 48 years, I felt, free, free, free," he said.