:format(webp)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/grupoclarin/NSE2ZPK3MVFPRFVIC7IDAVQJJI.jpg "Jury Considers Death Penalty for Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooter")
PITTSBURGH (AP) — A jury began deliberating Tuesday on whether the man who fatally shot 11 people in a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018 should be sentenced to death or life in prison.
Robert Bowers carried out the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in American history when he attacked the Tree of Life synagogue in 2018, killing members of three congregations who had come to pray for Shabbat and study the Bible.
The same jury that found Bowers guilty in June of 63 criminal charges began deliberating his sentence at about 9:30 am Tuesday, returning to the courtroom shortly afterward to view weapons used in the assault.
In their closing arguments Monday, the prosecution asserted that the 50-year-old trucker was clearly motivated by religious hatred, reminding jurors that Bowers posted anti-Semitic messages online before the attack and has since professed pride in committing the crime. . The prosecution asked the jury to impose the death sentence.
His lawyers asked the jury to exempt him from execution, arguing that Bowers acted under the unrealistic belief that Jews were helping to carry out a genocide of white people. They claimed that his client suffered from severe mental illness and had a difficult childhood.
Bowers, who was carrying an AR-15 rifle and other weapons, also shot and wounded seven people, including five police officers.
Judge Robert Colville thanked the jury for their service before dismissing them to begin deliberating.
A short time later, jurors came out to examine the weapons and question a bailiff who was standing there. Bowers’ lawyers objected, and the judge instructed the jury to refrain from speaking to the bailiff and to disregard what the bailiff had told them about the guns. The judge also denied a defense request to declare a mistrial.