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USA - Federal. Jury Sentence Robert Bowers to Death
August 1, 2023: (August 01, 2023) - Federal Jury Sentence Robert Bowers to Death for 2018 Synagogue Shooting
On August 1, 2023, federal jurors unanimously recommended a sentence of death for Robert Bowers, 50, White, who they had earlier convicted of killing 11 Jewish worshippers at a Pittsburgh synagogue in October 2018. The jury agreed with all five aggravating factors alleged by the prosecution during the penalty phase and rejected defense counsel’s argument that Mr. Bowers’ schizophrenia and delusions meant he should not be sentenced to death. He will be formally sentenced by the court on August 3, 2023.
Family members of the victims, some of whom will address the court before sentencing, have been divided about the punishment that Mr. Bowers should receive.
Mr. Bowers had offered to plead guilty in exchange for a sentence of life without the possibility of parole, but the federal government rejected that offer. This is the first federal death sentence since 2019 and the first secured by the Biden Administration’s Department of Justice.
In March, an unsuccessful effort to secure a federal death sentence in the trial of Sayfullo Saipov, who killed 8 bikers on a New York City bike path in 2017, ended in eight consecutive life sentences.
Mr. Bowers will be the 42nd person on the federal death row in Terre Haute, Indiana.
Mr. Bowers may face yet another trial and another possible death sentence if the Allegheny County district attorney’s office decides to move forward with state charges of criminal homicide. The office has said it will consult with family members before making a final decision. There is a currently a governor-imposed moratorium on executions in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The DOJ is still considering whether to seek a death sentence for Payton Gendron, accused of killing ten people at the Tops Friendly Supermarket in Buffalo, New York on May 14, 2022. New York state opted out of using the death penalty; however, the federal government has jurisdiction to seek a death sentence there and in all other U.S. states, territories, and Washington, D.C. The DOJ recently decided against seeking a death sentence for Patrick Crusius, who pled guilty of killing 23 people and injuring 22 others in an El Paso, Texas Walmart in August 2019. Mr. Crusius pled guilty and was sentenced to 90 consecutive life sentences. In July, El Paso District Attorney Bill Hicks announced that he will prosecute and seek a state death sentence for Mr. Crusius.
https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/news/jurors-sentence-robert-bowers-to-death-for-2018-synagogue-shooting (Source: DPIC, 01/08/2023)
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