Jury finishes deliberation in Pittsburgh synagogue shooting attack
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- As of around 11:15 a.m., the jury has reached a verdict, according to KDKA's Andy Sheehan and Meghan Schiller.
We will have live coverage on KDKA as well as CBS News Pittsburgh.
Jury returns on Wednesday morning
Wednesday is day 37 of the trial and day two of deliberations.
The jury in the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting trial was been sent home on Tuesday.
The 12 men and women did not reach a verdict and will return Wednesday and the jury got the case at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday. They left around 4:30 p.m.
Convicted gunman Robert Bowers will either face life in prison or the death penalty. The jury must weigh the aggravating factors against the so-called mitigating ones. That is, the reasons to impose the death penalty against those that call for leniency.
They are weighing what are called "aggravating factors" and "mitigating factors"
Aggravating factors are the killing of 11 worshippers inside the synagogue that morning as well as the permanent physical and mental impact left on the survivors.
Mitigating factors include the gunman's troubled childhood and the psychological issues allegedly plaguing his entire family.
The jury is weighing it all and will decide what they think should matter most and then render a verdict.
In the final sentence phase of the trial, the prosecution sparred over Bowers' mental state. Was he driven by pure antisemitic hate as the prosecution contends? Or was he in the throes of a psychotic delusion when he murdered 11 innocent victims and shot five others? The jury must weigh and balance the evidence.
To that end, the jury is required to consider the aggravating factors that call for the death penalty — that Bowers murdered 11 innocent and defenseless victims, that he was motivated by religious hate and that he has shown no remorse for the atrocity.
But they must also vote on 115 mitigating factors forwarded by the defense. These would be the reasons for leniency, involving Bowers' tortured childhood of verbal and physical abuse, multiple alleged suicide attempts, and a diagnosis of schizophrenia.
Less than an hour into deliberations Tuesday, the jury asked to view the murder weapons -- the convicted gunman's AR-15 and three Glocks. KDKA's Andy Sheehan reported from the courthouse that the jury left the jury room to walk by the weapons in the courtroom.
Judge Robert Colville then denied a second call for a mistrial after a U.S. Marshal talked with members of the jury about the weapons. The marshal answered questions on their workings.
The judge denied the motion and asked the jury to disregard the marshals before sending them back to deliberations.
Prior to deliberations beginning, Judge Colville instructed the jury to weigh Bowers' fate, telling them, "Your service remains extraordinarily valuable and we are grateful for it."
Judge Colville also early on Tuesday morning denied a mistrial motion by the defense over prosecution statements in closing arguments.
The death penalty is reserved for the worst of the worst of crimes, and the massacre at the synagogue would easily qualify. But over the past two months of testimony, this case has never been about the guilt or innocence of the defendant. Rather, most of the penalty phase has focused on the mental state of the convicted gunman: whether he was driven by schizophrenic delusions or simply ethnic hate.
In the closing arguments, the prosecution argued against defense mental illness claims, saying Bowers is an intelligent man who methodically planned and executed the attack on innocent victims and only wishes he had killed more than the 11 people he murdered.
"It doesn't make you schizophrenic to be happy about what you did. This defendant just happens to be white supremicist like many other white supremicists. They're also not delusional, they're just white supremacists," a lawyer for the prosecution said.
In asking the jury to give Bowers life in prison without the possibility of release, Defense attorney Judy Clarke detailed family history of mental illness and abusive parents, alleged suicide attempts and institutionalizations which she said led to schizophrenia and delusions.
Saying there was no justification for the massacre, Clarke said, "What happened cannot be undone. We can't rewind the clock make this never happen. All we can do is make the right decision going forward and that is life."
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.
Then, in July, the jury determined the convicted gunman is eligible to face the death penalty.
However, the three synagogue congregations are divided on whether the death penalty should be imposed as are some of the victims' families. But Jewish leaders said all are thankful for the jury's decision and look forward to testifying about the impact of the attack in the final sentencing phase of the trial.
Recapping the defense's arguments
In their final push in the penalty phase of the trial, the defense spent their time trying to convince the jury that the convicted gunman should be spared the death penalty because of mental illness.
Witnesses for the defense last week testified that if the convicted gunman is sentenced to life in prison, it would still be considered a harsh punishment.
Prison expert Maureen Baird testified if sentenced to life without the possibility of a release, Bowers would likely be sent to the federal supermax prison in Florence, Colorado. It is a facility designed to house inmates who are too highly profiled or present too great a security risk for even a maximum security prison.
In a surprise motion filing last week, the defense requested the remains of the convicted gunman's father to be exhumed for DNA testing. The request, which was ultimately denied by Judge Robert Colville, came following the prosecution's raising of doubts that Randall Bowers is the biological father of Robert Bowers.
In the final sentencing phase of the trial, the defense has presented mental health experts who have testified the gunman genetically inherited the family's history of schizophrenia and should not be sentenced to execution.
Dr. Katherine Porterfield, an expert who testified about mental health issues, was on the stand last week, detailing the convicted gunman's troubled childhood.
Recapping victim impact statements
Prior to the defense beginning to call witnesses, the prosecution called family members of the victims to the stand to give victim impact statements. The wife and son of victim Dan Stein took the stand; and then, Michele Rosenthal, the sister of victims David and Cecil Rosenthal, talked about her two younger brothers.
Andrea Wedner summed up the loss she feels as a pain in all the small moments when talking about her mother, Rose Mallinger. "I'm haunted by what happened to me and by what I saw and what I heard that day," she told the jury.
The jury also heard victim impact statements from Dan Leger, who dropped from 145 pounds on the day of the shooting down to 110 pounds in the hospital. He couldn't even speak, and said he wrote to his wife on a piece of paper "let me go" because he thought he'd never recover from his injuries.
The brother-in-law of Dr. Jerry Rabinowitz took the stand on Tuesday, stating how his brother-in-law just wanted to help people, which is why he got into family medicine, saying that he would even make house calls after hours.
He added that many people in the family have changed their professions since the deadly shooting took place to do things to more directly help people, like Dr. Rabinowitz did.
Michelle Weiss, the daughter of the slain couple Sylvan and Bernice Simon, said she spoke with her mother every day and was asked what life is like without her.
"I lost my best friend, my confidant, lost my most important people in my life in one day," she said. "It's very hard for me to go on. We don't have holidays anymore, nothing is the same."
Anthony Feinberg, the son of Joyce Feinberg, called his mother "the central cog" in his family who has left such a void.
In earlier testimony, Margaret Durachko, the wife of Richard Gottfried, was the first of more than 20 family members to take the stand during this phase of the trial and testified of how her whole life was turned upside down following the mass shooting at the synagogue.
Diane Rosenthal, the sister of Cecil and David Rosenthal, testified that when they were diagnosed early with fragile X syndrome, her parents insisted they be raised at home with her and her sister Michelle rather than be put in an institution. The boys, she said, were a gift with an infectious joy for life which they spread throughout the neighborhood.
Testifying on videotape, Cecil and David Rosenthal's mother said she thanks God for her sons and couldn't be more proud to be their mother but now they are gone.
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.
