Pittsburgh synagogue shooter appeals sentence and asks for new trial
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — The convicted Pittsburgh synagogue shooter has appealed his conviction and death sentence, according to a report on Thursday from our news partner at the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.
The newspaper reports that Robert Bowers is asking for a new trial, alleging prosecutors excluded potential jurors who were Black, Hispanic and Jewish. The Post-Gazette reports the 39-page appeal also seeks a judgement of acquittal.
Bowers was sentenced to death on Aug. 3, one day after a jury recommended capital punishment for the shooter. In voting to impose the death penalty, the jury ruled the horrific nature of the atrocity requires the ultimate punishment, voting that Bowers killed defenseless victims for religious reasons, but also that he has shown no remorse for his actions.
The jury was tasked with deciding whether the convicted gunman would spend the rest of his life in prison or be sentenced to death. They deliberated for about 10 hours over two days.
In June, Bowers was found guilty of all 63 federal charges in the attack when he shot and killed 11 worshippers from three different congregations, Tree of Life, Dor Hadash and New Light, on Oct. 27, 2018. It was the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history. The jury then determined the convicted gunman was eligible to face the death penalty.
In the last six months of the Trump administration, the government executed 13 prisoners by lethal injection. None have been put to death under President Joe Biden, and United States Attorney General Merrick Garland has instituted a moratorium. But that could change under a new president.