The judge is required to follow the jury’s decision. Here’s what to know.
A federal jury on Wednesday condemned to death the gunman who killed 11 worshipers at a Pittsburgh synagogue in October 2018, in what is considered the deadliest antisemitic attack in American history.
The jury’s decision, which is binding on the judge, was announced Wednesday in the same federal courtroom where the jurors in June convicted the gunman, Robert Bowers, 50, of carrying out the massacre during sabbath services nearly five years ago. The judge will formally impose the sentence at a hearing on Thursday morning, when families of some victims are expected to address the court.
In a statement, the family of two victims — Rose Mallinger, a 97-year-old member of the Tree of Life congregation who was killed in the attack, and Andrea Wedner, her daughter, who was wounded — thanked the jury. “Although we will never attain closure from the loss of our beloved Rose Mallinger, we now feel a measure of justice has been served,” the statement read.
Jurors deliberated for just under 10 hours before reaching the verdict.
I live in Pittsburgh. Originally the trial was supposed to take place in 2020 but got pushed back due to covid.
Then the jury pool was absolutely massive. My roommate and I both got served juror summons. I didn’t have to go to the courthouse on my date, and he didn’t get called as a juror when he went down. I feel like they were related to this.
I was actually surprised they held the trial in the city, especially for a federal one. The wounds for this tragedy cut pretty deep here.