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Trial in Pittsburgh Synagogue Massacre Moves to Penalty Phase: What to Know Trial in Pittsburgh Synagogue Massacre Moves to Final Phase: What to Know
(30 days later)
On the morning of Oct. 27, 2018, a gunman walked into the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh and killed 11 people who had gathered to worship. It is considered the deadliest antisemitic attack in the nation’s history.On the morning of Oct. 27, 2018, a gunman walked into the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh and killed 11 people who had gathered to worship. It is considered the deadliest antisemitic attack in the nation’s history.
Four and a half years later, the man accused of carrying out the massacre has been found guilty in federal court, convicted of all 63 charges, including dozens of hate crimes and civil rights offenses. Last month, the man accused of carrying out the massacre was found guilty in federal court, convicted of all 63 charges, including dozens of hate crimes and civil rights offenses.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty, and the next phases of trial, which are expected to span about six weeks, will determine whether the defendant, Robert Bowers, will face execution. The jury will first have to determine whether Mr. Bowers, 50, is eligible for the death penalty for the crimes he has been convicted of. Then, after a phase of the trial that will most likely be dominated by testimony about Mr. Bowers’ mental health and life history, as well as testimony about the lives of the people killed and wounded in his attack, the jury will decide whether he should be sentenced to death. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for the gunman, Robert Bowers. After weeks of testimony about his mental health, the jury has determined that Mr. Bowers, 50, is eligible for a death sentence.
As the facts surrounding the shooting are mostly undisputed, the guilty verdict was widely expected. In both the opening and closing arguments, the defense lawyers acknowledged that Mr. Bowers planned and carried out the mass shooting, though they raised questions about his intent. Before the trial, his lawyers offered to resolve the case with a guilty plea on all counts in exchange for life in prison without the possibility of release, but federal prosecutors rejected this offer. Now, after a phase of the trial that will most likely be dominated by testimony about Mr. Bowers’s life history, as well as testimony about the people who were killed and wounded in his attack, the jury will decide whether to recommend that the judge impose a sentence of death.
The facts surrounding the shooting are mostly undisputed, with defense lawyers acknowledging that Mr. Bowers planned and carried out the mass shooting. Before the trial, his lawyers offered to resolve the case with a guilty plea on all counts in exchange for life in prison without the possibility of release, but federal prosecutors rejected this offer.
Trials for mass shooters are uncommon, because the massacres often end in the death of the attacker. The man who killed 12 people in a Colorado movie theater in 2012 was sentenced to life in prison after a 10-week trial; the white supremacist who killed nine Black churchgoers in Charleston, S.C., in 2015, was convicted and sentenced to death. The former student who killed 17 people at a high school in Parkland, Fla., pleaded guilty but faced a sentencing trial last year, where a jury voted to keep him in prison for life.Trials for mass shooters are uncommon, because the massacres often end in the death of the attacker. The man who killed 12 people in a Colorado movie theater in 2012 was sentenced to life in prison after a 10-week trial; the white supremacist who killed nine Black churchgoers in Charleston, S.C., in 2015, was convicted and sentenced to death. The former student who killed 17 people at a high school in Parkland, Fla., pleaded guilty but faced a sentencing trial last year, where a jury voted to keep him in prison for life.
Here’s what to know as the trial moves to its next phases. Here’s what to know as the trial moves to its final phase.
At the time of the attack, the Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha synagogue, which sits in a neighborhood with a rich Jewish history, was home to three separate congregations, all of which were gathering for services in different parts of the building. The Tree of Life congregation, founded in Pittsburgh more than 150 years ago, and the smaller New Light congregation are both part of the Conservative branch of Judaism; the third congregation, Dor Hadash, is Reconstructionist, a more liberal branch.At the time of the attack, the Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha synagogue, which sits in a neighborhood with a rich Jewish history, was home to three separate congregations, all of which were gathering for services in different parts of the building. The Tree of Life congregation, founded in Pittsburgh more than 150 years ago, and the smaller New Light congregation are both part of the Conservative branch of Judaism; the third congregation, Dor Hadash, is Reconstructionist, a more liberal branch.
Members of all three congregations were killed in the attack. The victims were Joyce Fienberg, 75; Richard Gottfried, 65; Rose Mallinger, 97; Daniel Stein, 71; Melvin Wax, 87; Irving Younger, 69; Dr. Jerry Rabinowitz, 66; the couple Bernice, 84, and Sylvan Simon, 86; and the brothers Cecil, 59, and David Rosenthal, 54.Members of all three congregations were killed in the attack. The victims were Joyce Fienberg, 75; Richard Gottfried, 65; Rose Mallinger, 97; Daniel Stein, 71; Melvin Wax, 87; Irving Younger, 69; Dr. Jerry Rabinowitz, 66; the couple Bernice, 84, and Sylvan Simon, 86; and the brothers Cecil, 59, and David Rosenthal, 54.
Six people were wounded, including four police officers.Six people were wounded, including four police officers.
The attack prompted shock and outrage from across the world and brought people from across religious communities in Pittsburgh together in support of the congregations that were attacked. Some members of Dor Hadash created a nonprofit to lobby for new gun laws. The Tree of Life building, which sat empty for years after the massacre, is being redesigned by the architect Daniel Libeskind and will soon become the home of a new organization dedicated to ending antisemitism.The attack prompted shock and outrage from across the world and brought people from across religious communities in Pittsburgh together in support of the congregations that were attacked. Some members of Dor Hadash created a nonprofit to lobby for new gun laws. The Tree of Life building, which sat empty for years after the massacre, is being redesigned by the architect Daniel Libeskind and will soon become the home of a new organization dedicated to ending antisemitism.
Mr. Bowers grew up in a Pittsburgh suburb, raised by his mother and extended family. When he was a child, his estranged father was charged with raping a woman in the same neighborhood where the mass shooting would later happen, and killed himself before trial. Mr. Bowers grew up in a Pittsburgh suburb, raised by his mother and extended family. Testimony from experts who have interviewed him and examined records from his childhood, reveal a troubled past. He was involuntarily committed to psychiatric facilities three times, tried to kill himself once and as a young boy attempted to set his mother on fire.
After high school, Mr. Bowers worked as a delivery driver for a bakery and later as a long-haul trucker. He tinkered with electronics, worked on the website of a conservative talk radio show, and, neighbors said, kept mostly to himself, at least in the offline world.After high school, Mr. Bowers worked as a delivery driver for a bakery and later as a long-haul trucker. He tinkered with electronics, worked on the website of a conservative talk radio show, and, neighbors said, kept mostly to himself, at least in the offline world.
Online, he was a prolific and virulent presence on right-wing forums, chatting with and reposting prominent white supremacists and in his own posts showing particular vitriol toward immigrants and Jews.Online, he was a prolific and virulent presence on right-wing forums, chatting with and reposting prominent white supremacists and in his own posts showing particular vitriol toward immigrants and Jews.
In several posts before the killing, he turned his ire on HIAS, an organization that helps resettle refugees in the United States. Dor Hadash had been one of hundreds of Jewish congregations nationwide to celebrate a National Refugee Shabbat a week before the massacre. Mr. Bowers singled that out in his posts, writing shortly before the killing: “HIAS likes to bring invaders in that kill our people. I can’t sit by and watch my people get slaughtered. Screw your optics, I’m going in.”In several posts before the killing, he turned his ire on HIAS, an organization that helps resettle refugees in the United States. Dor Hadash had been one of hundreds of Jewish congregations nationwide to celebrate a National Refugee Shabbat a week before the massacre. Mr. Bowers singled that out in his posts, writing shortly before the killing: “HIAS likes to bring invaders in that kill our people. I can’t sit by and watch my people get slaughtered. Screw your optics, I’m going in.”
The authorities said that he had 21 guns registered in his name, and that he carried out the synagogue shooting with three Glock .357 handguns and a Colt AR-15 semiautomatic rifle.The authorities said that he had 21 guns registered in his name, and that he carried out the synagogue shooting with three Glock .357 handguns and a Colt AR-15 semiautomatic rifle.
Mr. Bowers was injured during a shootout with the police that ended the attack. He was later charged with 63 crimes, including 11 counts of hate crimes resulting in death and 11 counts of obstruction of free exercise of religious beliefs resulting in death. On June 16, he was convicted on all 63 counts. He is facing 36 state charges as well, including 11 counts of murder, but the Allegheny County District Attorney is holding those charges in abeyance for the federal criminal proceedings. Mr. Bowers was injured during a shootout with the police that ended the attack. He was later charged with 63 crimes, including 11 counts of hate crimes resulting in death and 11 counts of obstruction of free exercise of religious beliefs resulting in death. On June 16, he was convicted on all 63 counts. He is facing 36 state charges as well, including 11 counts of murder, but the Allegheny County District Attorney is holding those charges in abeyance for the federal criminal proceedings.
Mr. Bowers’s defense team has argued in briefs that a series of psychiatric and neurological tests, along with “significant events” in his life history, have established that he is suffering from a “major mental illness” that includes schizophrenia, in addition to having “structural and functional brain impairments” and epilepsy. In a part of the trial determining whether Mr. Bowers was eligible for a death sentence, defense experts said that they had diagnosed him with schizophrenia and other serious mental disorders, testifying that Mr. Bowers had signs of “permanent brain damage” and that he suffered from paranoia and delusions. Experts called by the prosecution disputed some of these findings.
His defense team includes Judy Clarke, who has made a career pleading with juries to spare the lives of people responsible for some of the nation’s most notorious acts of violence, including one of the Boston Marathon bombers, the Unabomber and the man who opened fire in an Arizona grocery store parking lot, killing six people and injuring 13, including former Representative Gabrielle Giffords. His defense team includes Judy Clarke, a lawyer with a long record of defending people accused of capital crimes, including one of the Boston Marathon bombers; the Unabomber; and the man who opened fire in an Arizona grocery store parking lot, killing six people and injuring 13, including former Representative Gabrielle Giffords.
Mr. Bowers’s lawyers have repeatedly but unsuccessfully challenged the government’s intention to seek the death penalty. In a filing this year, defense lawyers argued that under Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, the Justice Department had been arbitrary in deciding whether to pursue capital punishment. They cited hundreds of other murder cases in which Mr. Garland had elected not to seek the death penalty, including the 2019 mass shooting by an anti-immigrant extremist in a Walmart in El Paso.Mr. Bowers’s lawyers have repeatedly but unsuccessfully challenged the government’s intention to seek the death penalty. In a filing this year, defense lawyers argued that under Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, the Justice Department had been arbitrary in deciding whether to pursue capital punishment. They cited hundreds of other murder cases in which Mr. Garland had elected not to seek the death penalty, including the 2019 mass shooting by an anti-immigrant extremist in a Walmart in El Paso.
The government has rebutted these arguments by insisting that there are factors in this case, such as Mr. Bowers’s open antisemitism and his decision to attack during a worship service, “that make the death penalty specifically warranted here.”The government has rebutted these arguments by insisting that there are factors in this case, such as Mr. Bowers’s open antisemitism and his decision to attack during a worship service, “that make the death penalty specifically warranted here.”
There is a wide array of opinions about this case among members of the three congregations, including among those who survived the attack and family members of the victims.There is a wide array of opinions about this case among members of the three congregations, including among those who survived the attack and family members of the victims.
The rabbi of New Light and members of Dor Hadash have publicly urged the government not to pursue the death penalty, an opposition that was motivated, they said in letters and speeches, by religious and ethical principles as well as concerns about the effects of a prolonged trial on already traumatized people. Such an ordeal, the president of Dor Hadash wrote in a letter to Mr. Garland, could “impede the healing process for some of our members.” Federal prosecutors have expressed their intentions to play 911 calls from terrified congregants describing the killings as they took place and to show graphic autopsy photographs at trial. The rabbi of New Light and members of Dor Hadash have publicly urged the government not to pursue the death penalty, an opposition that was motivated, they said in letters and speeches, by religious and ethical principles as well as concerns about the effects of a prolonged trial on already traumatized people. Such an ordeal, the president of Dor Hadash wrote in a letter to Mr. Garland, could “impede the healing process for some of our members.”
But family members of nine of the 11 people killed wrote in a letter to The Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle last year that accepting a plea from Mr. Bowers, thus avoiding a trial and the possibility of his execution, would be letting him “have the easy way out.”But family members of nine of the 11 people killed wrote in a letter to The Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle last year that accepting a plea from Mr. Bowers, thus avoiding a trial and the possibility of his execution, would be letting him “have the easy way out.”
“His crimes deserve the death penalty,” they wrote.“His crimes deserve the death penalty,” they wrote.
Jon Moss contributed reporting.Jon Moss contributed reporting.