Jury goes home after starting deliberations in Pittsburgh synagogue shooting trial
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The jury went home Thursday afternoon after deliberating for a little over two hours about the guilt of the man accused of killing 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue in the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history.
The jury started deliberating around 2:30 p.m. on Thursday. The judge said if they didn't have a verdict around 4:30 or 5 p.m., they could go home for the day and come back in the morning. The jury is set to return at 9 a.m. on Friday.
There has been, however, little doubt about the guilt of the defendant. What's in question is whether he will face the death penalty in the sentencing phase.
If the jury finds the gunman guilty, the sentencing phase will begin, where both sides can present more people to speak to the jury, including the defense presenting information aiming to get the jury to spare the gunman's life.
The judge ruled that a one-week break would take place before the sentencing phase begins. Following that, the decision will then be life in prison or sentenced to death.
Robert Bowers was charged with 63 criminal counts, including hate crimes resulting in death and obstruction of the free exercise of religion resulting in death.
Closing arguments presented
Defense attorney Elisa Long delivered closing arguments to the jury admitting, "At the end of the day, there is no making sense of this senseless act."
But she did try to offer an explanation, saying the gunman made a connection in his mind between Jews and immigrants and he became almost singularly focused on HIAS. He linked HIAS to Congregation Dor Hadash inside the Tree of Life synagogue.
She called what he thought disturbing, offensive and ugly.
"They have no basis whatsoever in truth or in reality, but they do give us some insight into Mr. Bowers' sense of reality, no matter how distorted it may be," she said.
U.S. Attorney Eric Olshan fired back in his rebuttal argument, calling the HIAS and Dor Hadash reasoning "absurd."
"These weren't people engaging in refugee assistance. These were people trying to practice their faith," he said.
He said he knows the jury didn't leave their common sense at the door when they walked in the courthouse. He said the gunman didn't focus on Dor Hadash when he got in there. He focused on any Jew he could find or try to kill.
"Nobody says 'I hate Jews' for no reason. There's always some reason and for this defendant, there were many reasons. It was a grab bag of many different reasons," Olshan said.
New Light congregation co-president Stephen Cohen praised the prosecution.
"The prosecution did an absolutely fantastic job of pulling together everything that happened that horrible morning," he said. "They walked us through each step along the way as the shooter did his deed. And it brought tears to our eyes, to have to relive, to think about, to learn about the horror, the way people died and the fact that there was no mitigation, no explanation, no nothing offered by the defense."
The final picture offered to the jury was the U.S. attorney holding up a tattered yamaka blown off a victim's head and torn into many pieces. The U.S. attorney told the jury no one has the power to put this yamaka back together but said the jury does have the power to deliver justice in this court of law.
Jewish community speaks
The director of the 10.27 Healing Partnership, a group providing support for the families and people impacted by the attack, addressed reporters on Thursday evening.
Maggie Feinstein, the director of 10.27 Healing Partnership, said the victims' family members are ready for the jury to come to their verdict.
Feinstein told reporters they've been there every day with the community waiting for the process to come to a conclusion. She said she thinks at this point, the community feels very confident that the jury has been listening and paying attention and that the attorneys have done what they needed to do.
She pointed out that not only family members have been impacted, but also the entire community.
"Because what we've seen through this field phase is really a horrific act of antisemitism. Jews from all over have felt the vicarious trauma of the event and people who truthfully worship in any house of worship and understand the violation that happened have been coming much more. We see a lot more people in our offices. We have drop-in counseling, we invite people to come," Feinstein said.
Recapping the trial
In the first two weeks of trial, the prosecution has been fulfilling its burden of proving the defendant is responsible for the deaths of 11 people and the wounding of several others. And while there is little doubt of that, the government has another aim: showing he willfully, knowingly and brutally slaughtered innocent people -- a hate crime based on their religion -- and that his actions merit the death penalty.
To that end, the government has focused on the human toll, presenting the heart-wrenching testimony of survivors of the attack who witnessed the brutal slaying of their fellow congregants and narrowly escaped death themselves. The government did not spare the jury graphic images -- crime scene and autopsy photos -- saying they were necessary to establish the "force" and "malice" of the defendant who shot the defenseless victims at close range with an AR-15 military-style rifle.
"It's necessary for the very purpose of this whole proceeding which is to move this jury to the death penalty," said Bruce Antkowiak, a law professor at St. Vincent College.
With the first of police witnesses, close to a dozen officers testified they did not hesitate and went immediately and directly into the building and towards the gunfire -- several paying a heavy price for their valor. The alleged gunman is charged specifically with causing bodily injury to safety officers. The government will later argue the death penalty is merited on all these accounts.
Jurors heard testimony Tuesday about the alleged gunman's social media presence, which prosecutors said shows his hatred for Jews.
Evan Browne, a tactical analyst with the FBI, took to the witness stand Tuesday, reading hundreds of posts that investigators say the gunman published to Gab.com, some with hundreds of "likes."
Support is available for those in need during the trial
If you or someone you know is experiencing mental health effects from the trial, go to 1027healingpartnership.org to find help resources. As always, call 911 to report threats.
Phone: 412-697-3534
Email: info@1027HealingPartnership.org
Website: 1027healingpartnership.org
More resources can be found here.