Jeffrey Finkelstein, president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, said his organization doesn’t have a position on the death penalty, and that survivors and victims’ relatives disagree about whether it should be applied. They cannot speak for themselves, and so their family members will speak for them,” Maggie Feinstein, director of 10.27 Healing Partnership, a program helping survivors of the rampage and others who were impacted, said in a statement after the verdict. They were beloved and valued family members, friends and neighbors. “It has been nearly five years since 11 people were taken from us. Testimony is now expected to shift to the impact of Bowers’ crimes on survivors and the victims’ loved ones. In the courtroom gallery, survivors and victims’ relatives heeded the judge’s request to keep their emotions in check.

As it was read, Bowers showed little reaction in keeping with his demeanor throughout the trial.

Jurors reached the verdict after less than two hours of deliberation. The jury agreed with prosecutors that Bowers - who spent six months planning the attack and has since expressed regret that he didn’t kill more people - had formed the requisite legal intent to kill.īowers’ lawyers argued that his ability to form intent was impaired by mental illness and a delusional belief that he could stop a genocide of white people by killing Jews who help immigrants. The government is seeking capital punishment for Robert Bowers, who raged against Jewish people online before storming the Tree of Life synagogue with an AR-15 rifle and other weapons in the nation’s deadliest antisemitic attack. PITTSBURGH (AP) - The gunman who killed 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018 is eligible for the death penalty, a federal jury announced Thursday, setting the stage for further evidence and testimony on whether he should be sentenced to death or life in prison.

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