Robert Bowers, the gunman who killed 11 people in a Pittsburgh synagogue, has been handed a death sentence by jurors in a historic decision that marks the first federal death penalty handed down under the Biden administration.
A federal jury on Aug. 2 voted unanimously to recommend that the 50-year-old Mr. Bowers be put to death for killing 11 people at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue in 2018.
In federal cases such as this one, all 12 jurors have to agree to a death sentence; otherwise, the penalty for Bowers would have been a life sentence in prison with no chance of parole. A judge will formally sign off on the death sentence at a later date.
In June, at a trial held at the U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh, jurors convicted Bowers of 63 counts, including 11 counts of obstruction of free exercise of religious beliefs resulting in death.
The jury’s landmark decision is the first time that federal prosecutors have successfully sought and won the death penalty since President Joe Biden took office.
When he was running for the presidency, Mr. Biden pledged to abolish the death penalty, and the Department of Justice (DOJ) has imposed a moratorium on executions while it carries out a review.
It’s therefore not clear when, if ever, Mr. Bowers will be put to death.
More Details
Mr. Bowers shot his way into Tree of Life on Oct. 27, 2018, and killed members of the Dor Hadash, New Light, and Tree of Life congregations, which shared the synagogue building.According to testimony, he told police at the scene that “all these Jews need to die.”
The victims were Joyce Fienberg, 75; Richard Gottfried, 65; Rose Mallinger, 97; Dr. Jerry Rabinowitz, 66; brothers David Rosenthal, 54, and Cecil Rosenthal, 59; Bernice Simon, 84, and her husband, Sylvan Simon, 86; Dan Stein, 71; Melvin Wax, 87; and Irving Younger, 69.
Mr. Bowers expressed no remorse for the killings, telling mental health experts that he viewed himself as a soldier in a race war. He said he took pride in the attack and his only regret was that he didn’t manage to shoot more people.
During the first part of the sentencing portion of his trial, he was found to be eligible for the death penalty.
Then prosecutors and defense attorneys put forward arguments before the jury as to whether Mr. Bowers deserved to be put to death for his crimes.
Bowers’s defense team didn’t dispute that he planned and carried out the attack but argued that he suffered from a prolonged mental illness and experienced delusions.
Prosecutors denied that mental illness had anything to do with the shooting, arguing that Bowers was well aware of his actions when he entered the synagogue and opened fire on terrified congregants.
‘A Measure of Justice Has Been Served’
Mr. Bowers showed little reaction during the court proceedings, although he was seen talking at length with his lawyers during breaks.Most of the victims’ families said that he deserved to be put to death for his crimes.
The family of 97-year-old Rose Mallinger, who was killed in the attack, and her daughter, Andrea Wedner, who was shot and wounded, thanked the jurors and said that “a measure of justice has been served.”
“Returning a sentence of death is not a decision that comes easy, but we must hold accountable those who wish to commit such terrible acts of antisemitism, hate, and violence,” the family said in a written statement.
Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, who took cover in a bathroom during the attack, thanked the jury in a statement.
“It is my hope that we can begin to heal and move forward,” Mr. Myers said.
