Pittsburg, PA: Tree of Life Synagogue - 11 murdered - Federal Death Penalty trial *GUILTY*

Death penalty trial begins for Robert Bowers, accused of shooting to death 11 Jewish worshippers at Pittsburgh synagogue

The families of those killed were divided over whether the government should pursue the death penalty, but most were in favor.

www.cbsnews.com

APRIL 24, 2023 / 10:26 AM / CBS/AP

Jury selection began Monday in the federal death penalty trial of a truck driver accused of shooting to death 11 Jewish worshippers at a Pittsburgh synagogue in the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history.


Robert G. Bowers, who is from the Pittsburgh suburb of Baldwin, faces 63 counts in the Oct. 27, 2018, attack at the Tree of Life synagogue, where members of three Jewish congregations were holding Sabbath activities. The charges include 11 counts of obstruction of free exercise of religion resulting in death and 11 counts of hate crimes resulting in death.

Bowers, 50, could get the death sentence if convicted. He offered to plead guilty in return for a life sentence, but federal prosecutors turned him down even though Joe Biden pledged while campaigning for president three years ago that, if elected, he would work to end the federal death penalty. His lawyers also recently said he has schizophrenia and structural and functional brain impairments.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Live trial feed can be found at above link. ~Summer

 

[Summer_Breeze]

More potential jurors interviewed in Pittsburgh synagogue shooting trial

The second day of jury selection has wrapped up at the federal courthouse in Pittsburgh in the synagogue shooting trial.

www.cbsnews.com

APRIL 25, 2023 / 12:45 PM / CBS PITTSBURGH

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The second day of jury selection is underway at the federal courthouse in Pittsburgh in the synagogue shooting trial.

The process of selecting jurors for the trial of Robert Bowers started Monday and is expected to be a long and intensive process.

Day two began with motions to strike potential jurors that were interviewed on Monday. Eight strikes were granted and three were denied.

<snip>
Jury selection is expected to take about three weeks.

 

[Kimster]

More potential jurors interviewed in Pittsburgh synagogue shooting trial

The second day of jury selection has wrapped up at the federal courthouse in Pittsburgh in the synagogue shooting trial.

www.cbsnews.com

APRIL 25, 2023 / 12:45 PM / CBS PITTSBURGH

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The second day of jury selection is underway at the federal courthouse in Pittsburgh in the synagogue shooting trial.

The process of selecting jurors for the trial of Robert Bowers started Monday and is expected to be a long and intensive process.

Day two began with motions to strike potential jurors that were interviewed on Monday. Eight strikes were granted and three were denied.

<snip>
Jury selection is expected to take about three weeks.

Wow! Jury selection in the Daybell case only took one week!

 

[Summer_Breeze]

Pittsburgh synagogue shooting suspect can face death penalty, judge rules

The man charged in the deadliest attack on Jewish people in U.S. history has lost another bid to get the death penalty removed as a possible punishment.

www.mcall.com

By ASSOCIATED PRESS |
PUBLISHED: May 3, 2023 at 11:01 a.m.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The man charged in the deadliest attack on Jewish people in U.S. history has lost another bid to get the death penalty removed as a possible punishment.

With jury selection underway at the federal trial of Robert Bowers, a judge ruled Tuesday against a defense motion that challenged the government’s pursuit of the death penalty.

U.S. District Judge Robert Colville said in his decision that Bowers’ defense team “fails entirely to establish a basis upon which the court could conclude that the government has arbitrarily sought the death penalty in this case.”

Bowers, of the Pittsburgh suburb of Baldwin, is charged with 63 criminal counts in the killings of 11 worshippers on Oct. 27, 2018, at the Tree of Life synagogue building where three congregations had gathered. The charges include 11 counts of obstruction of free exercise of religion resulting in death and 11 counts of hate crimes resulting in death.

 

[Summer_Breeze]

Prosecution allowed to conduct psychiatric evaluation of accused Pittsburgh synagogue shooter

Any report must be held by the clerk of court and their finding not revealed unless the case moves to a sentencing phase and Bowers proceeds with a mental health defense, the judge said.

www.wpxi.com

By WPXI.com News Staff
May 09, 2023 at 12:57 pm EDT

PITTSBURGH — The judge presiding over the trial of Robert Bowers, the man accused of killing 11 people at a Squirrel Hill synagogue, will allow the prosecution to conduct a psychiatric evaluation of the defendant.

U.S. District Judge Robert Colville’s opinion gave government experts permission to evaluate Bowers “as necessary and probative to rebut or confirm defense experts’ anticipated mental health testimony,” Channel 11 news partner the Tribune-Review reports.

Any report must be held by the clerk of court and their finding not revealed unless the case moves to a sentencing phase and Bowers proceeds with a mental health defense, the judge said.

The defense has previously said that Bowers was diagnosed with epilepsy and schizophrenia.

 

[Summer_Breeze]

Pittsburgh synagogue shooting trial: Jury selection enters fourth week

Jury selection will continue on Tuesday.

www.cbsnews.com

BY MEGHAN SCHILLER
MAY 15, 2023 / 6:19 PM / CBS PITTSBURGH

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Monday marked the start of week four in the jury selection process for the Pittsburgh synagogue shooter trial.

It was another day of potential jurors talking about their views on the death penalty and exactly how they got to those beliefs, and whether they think it's a valid option for our justice system or not.

KDKA-TV's Meghan Schiller sat in as Judge Robert Colville and attorneys from the defense and prosecution continued to question potential jurors. They have interviewed more than 200 people so far and need a pool of at least 58 people. They've reached the mid-60s as of Monday.

They need a pool of at least 58 people to survive the 20 strikes from each side. They're then planning to seat a jury of 12 with 6 alternates.

 

[Summer_Breeze]

Lawyers are closer to picking a jury in the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting trial

The first phase of jury selection in the trial of accused Pittsburgh synagogue shooter Robert Bowers has concluded with 69 potential jurors still eligible to be seated on the final panel.

www.post-gazette.com

MEGAN GUZA
MAY 17, 2023

The first phase of jury selection in the trial of accused Pittsburgh synagogue shooter Robert Bowers concluded Wednesday with 69 potential jurors still eligible to be seated on the final panel.

Prosecutors and defense lawyers next Thursday will begin whittling that down to an 18-person jury, with 12 jurors and six alternates.

Testimony in the trial will likely begin after Memorial Day.

Lawyers have estimated that the so-called guilt phase of the federal death penalty trial will take about three weeks. If Mr. Bowers is found guilty, the sentencing phase would last about six weeks.



https://www.post-gazette.com/news/c...g-trial-jewish-community/stories/202305120080

 

[Summer_Breeze]

Jurors' names in Pittsburgh synagogue shooting trial to be sealed until verdicts

The judge in the Pittsburgh synagogue mass shooting trial says the names of all potential and seated jurors will remain sealed until all the verdicts are in and potentially beyond that.

www.cbsnews.com

MAY 19, 2023 / 9:19 PM / CBS PITTSBURGH

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The judge in the Pittsburgh synagogue mass shooting trial says the names of all potential and seated jurors will remain sealed until all the verdicts are in and potentially beyond that.

Defense attorneys for suspect Robert Bowers had filed a motion asking for juror records to be sealed. They said they were concerned people may try to intimidate or influence them if their names became public.

Judge Robert Colville says he may revisit the decision to seal jurors' info after the conclusion of the guilt and sentencing portions of the trial.

 

[Summer_Breeze]

Jury selection almost complete for Pittsburgh synagogue shooting trial

Jury selection for the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting trial is almost complete.

www.cbsnews.com

BY ANDY SHEEHAN
MAY 25, 2023 / 12:15 PM / CBS PITTSBURGH

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Jury selection for the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting trial is almost complete.

The long selection process is coming to an end and it appears there will be a jury selected Thursday to begin the trial on Tuesday of next week.

Legal experts say the trial could be won or lost in the jury selection phase.

It's been an intensive process. The courts sent out 1,500 questionnaires, and after interviewing more than 200 potential jurors, the two sides whittled them down to a pool of 69 jurors. On Thursday, they began the final paring with the aim of seating 12 jurors and six alternates.

There is little doubt about the guilt of the defendant. What is in question is whether he will face the death penalty. The prosecution is looking for jurors who would be most likely to impose the death penalty and the defense is looking for those more likely to spare the defendant's life.


To that end, each side can reject or strike 20 of these potential jurors, and it appears they are nearing the end of that process and will have a jury later Thursday.

 

[Summer_Breeze]

Pittsburgh synagogue mass shooting trial starts Tuesday

"You are the jury."

www.sfgate.com

Hearst Television
May 26, 2023

"You are the jury."

That's what Judge Robert Colville told the people picked Thursday as the 12 jurors and six alternates for the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting trial. The 18 have been told to be back at the federal courthouse Tuesday morning for the opening statements in the trial of defendant Robert Bowers.

 

[Summer_Breeze]

Graphic crime scene and autopsy images will be part of synagogue massacre trial, judge rules

The judge agreed with the prosecution that the images are relevant to show the accused shooter’s intent and will help the jury understand the chronology of the attack.

jewishchronicle.timesofisrael.com

By TORSTEN OVE
May 28, 2023, 2:19 pm

Autopsy photos, crime scene images and a police body cam video will be shown to the jury in the Pittsburgh synagogue massacre trial, the judge ruled Friday in rejecting a defense motion to bar the graphic evidence.

U.S. District Judge Robert Colville agreed with the prosecution that the images are relevant to show the accused shooter’s intent and will help the jury understand the chronology of the slaughter that left 11 worshippers at the Tree of Life synagogue building dead on Oct. 27, 2018.

The defense team didn’t dispute the relevance of the images but argued that they could be cumulative and cause “unfair prejudice” against the accused killer, especially since the lawyers aren’t contesting the time, place and manner of the murders.

The lawyers had also said showing all the images is a way for the government to ask jurors to put themselves in the shoes of the victims, which in legal circles is called the “golden rule” argument and isn’t allowed.

But the judge said he doesn’t see how admitting the photos is an improper appeal to the jury, “especially considering the routine admission of this kind of evidence.”

 

[Summer_Breeze]

Testimony to resume inside federal courtroom in Pittsburgh synagogue shooting trial

The first day of the trial brought tough testimony with emotions running high.

www.cbsnews.com

BY JESSICA GUAY
MAY 31, 2023 / 4:45 AM / CBS PITTSBURGH

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Witnesses will be back on the stand in federal court today for the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting trial.

The first day of the trial brought tough testimony with emotions running high.

After more than a four-year wait, prosecutors began presenting their case. Jurors heard chilling opening statements and emotional testimony at the federal courthouse in Downtown Pittsburgh.

In her opening statement, prosecutor Soo Song described the defendant Robert Bowers as a hate-fuel antisemite and told the jury she would spare no detail in describing in horrific detail, the killing of each of the 11 victims at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Squirrel Hill on October 27, 2018.

To the apparent surprise of the jury, defense attorney Judy Clarke began her opening statements by readily admitting that her defendant was responsible for the carnage, calling his actions immeasurable and inexcusable.

<snip>

Ultimately, the defense will ask the jury to spare the defendant's life but for the next few weeks, they will simply listen to his horrific acts.

The accused gunman faces 68 counts in the attack.

Since the beginning of the trial process, the case has been less about guilt and more about whether or not he will receive the death penalty.

 

[Summer_Breeze]

https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/30/us/pittsburgh-tree-of-life-shooting-trial/index.html

By Eric Levenson and Sabrina Souza, CNN
Updated 8:03 PM EDT, Tue May 30, 2023

The federal death penalty trial of the man accused of killing 11 worshippers at a Pittsburgh synagogue in October 2018 began Tuesday with harrowing audio of a 911 call featuring one of the victim’s last words.

Shannon Basa-Sabol was the first witness in the trial and testified she answered a 911 call from Bernice Simon from inside the Tree of Life synagogue that day.

“I was hearing her being shot,” Basa-Sabol told the court.

Federal prosecutors played audio of the 911 call in court. Loud noises could be heard in the background of the call, including shrieking and commotion, as a gunman shot congregants inside.

“Tree of Life, we’re being attacked … We’re being attacked!” Simon exclaimed on the phone. “My husband’s shot, oh dear God, my husband’s bleeding, he’s shot in the back.”

“I’m scared to death,” she added in the call. The screaming continued, and the dispatcher asked Simon if she could hear her, to which there was then no response.

Simon, 84, and her husband Sylvan, 86, were both killed.

 

[Summer_Breeze]

LIVE UPDATES: Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting Trial Day 3

Testimony will resume Thursday in the trial against Robert Bowers, the man accused of shooting and killing 11 worshippers at a Squirrel Hill synagogue.

www.wpxi.com

By WPXI.com News Staff
June 01, 2023 at 6:51 am EDT

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Live updates from the trial at above link. ~Summer

 

[Summer_Breeze]

LIVE UPDATES: Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting Trial Day 4

Day Four of the trial against Robert Bowers, the man accused of shooting and killing 11 worshippers at a Squirrel Hill synagogue continues with more witnesses expected to testify.

www.wpxi.com

By WPXI.com News Staff
June 02, 2023 at 9:11 am EDT

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Live updates from the trial at above link. ~Summer

 

[Summer_Breeze]

Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting Trial Day 5: testimony to continue

First responders who were among the first on the scene of the shooting, including Officer Michael Smidga, who exchanged gunfire with Bowers, and Officer Steve Mescan, who was part of the group to take him into custody, testified Friday.

www.wpxi.com

By WPXI.com News Staff
June 05, 2023 at 8:09 am EDT

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Live updates from the trial at above link. ~Summer

 

[Kimster]

It’s so sad they have to relive all of this in trial. In my opinion, there should’ve been a guilty plea instead.

 

[Summer_Breeze]

Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting Trial: Day 6

Day Six of the trial against Robert Bowers, the man accused of shooting and killing 11 worshippers at a Squirrel Hill synagogue, continues today with more witnesses expected to take the stand.

www.wpxi.com

By WPXI.com News Staff
June 06, 2023 at 9:04 am EDT

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Live updates from the trial at above link. ~Summer

 

[Summer_Breeze]

Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting Trial: Day 7

Day Seven of the trial against Robert Bowers, the man accused of shooting and killing 11 worshippers at a Squirrel Hill synagogue, continues today with more witnesses expected to take the stand.

www.wpxi.com

By WPXI.com News Staff
June 07, 2023 at 8:36 am EDT

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Live updates from the trial at above link. ~Summer

 

[Summer_Breeze]

LIVE UPDATES: Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting Trial Day 8

Day eight of the trial against Robert Bowers, the man accused of shooting and killing 11 worshippers at a Squirrel Hill synagogue, continues today with more witnesses taking the stand.

www.wpxi.com

By WPXI.com News Staff
June 08, 2023 at 8:29 am EDT

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Live updates from the trial at above link. ~Summer