Robert Bowers
For many Pittsburgh Jews, Robert Bowers deserves the death penalty
By Yonat Shimron — August 3, 2023
(RNS) — The execution may be years or decades away, if it happens at all, but for the country’s worst act of antisemitism the death penalty sent a message that hatred of Jews should never be tolerated.
Out of the death penalty in Pittsburgh, a testament of life
By Jeffrey Salkin — August 3, 2023
Robert Bowers cannot become the best known name from that horrific day. Let us remember his victims. Each one had a name.
Pittsburgh synagogue shooter will be sentenced to death, jury finds
By Kathryn Post — August 2, 2023
PITTSBURGH (RNS) — The jury’s unanimous decision comes after just over a day of deliberation and two months of grueling, graphic testimony.
Defense presses case that mental illness spurred Pittsburgh synagogue massacre
By Associated Press — July 31, 2023
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The defense argues Bowers has schizophrenia and acted out of a delusional belief that Jews were participating in a genocide of white people.
The gunman who killed 11 people in a Pittsburgh synagogue is found eligible for the death penalty
By Peter Smith — July 13, 2023
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Testimony is now expected to shift to the impact of Bowers’ crimes on survivors and the victims’ loved ones.
Amid horrific testimonies, Pittsburgh Jews hold each other up
By Yonat Shimron and Kathryn Post — June 2, 2023
PITTSBURGH, (RNS) — The long-awaited trial of Robert Bowers has reopened old wounds and resurfaced painful memories.
‘Felt like a year’: Worshipper describes fear during gunman’s deadly attack on Pittsburgh synagogue
By Peter Smith — June 1, 2023
Robert Bowers, a truck driver from the Pittsburgh suburbs, could face the death penalty if he’s convicted of some of the 63 counts he faces in the Oct. 27, 2018, attack, which claimed the lives of worshippers from three congregations using the city's Tree of Life synagogue.
Lawyers for Pittsburgh synagogue defendant admit he carried out deadliest US antisemitic attack
By Peter Smith — May 31, 2023
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Bowers’ defense acknowledged at the outset of his federal trial that he was the gunman, but hope to spare the suburban truck driver a possible death sentence over the Oct. 27, 2018, massacre at the Tree of Life synagogue.
Should the Tree of Life shooter get the death penalty?
By Jeffrey Salkin — May 9, 2023
(RNS) — A new podcast: Should murderers be executed? For the Jews of Pittsburgh, the question is personal.
Jury selection begins over 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue attack
By Peter Smith and Mark Scolforo — April 24, 2023
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The families of those killed were divided over whether the government should pursue the death penalty, but most were in favor.
Why the Biden administration should spare Tree of Life shooter Robert Bowers’ life
By David Saperstein — April 19, 2023
(RNS) — The government should consider the guidance of the collective wisdom of Jewish institutions.
3 years after Pittsburgh synagogue attack, trial still ahead
By Peter Smith and Mark Scolforo — October 22, 2021
PITTSBURGH (AP) — As the three-year mark since the massacre at the Tree of Life synagogue approaches, survivors are planning now-familiar annual rituals of remembrance, the criminal case involving the suspect plods on, and the site is in line for restoration. The landmark synagogue in Pittsburgh’s leafy Squirrel Hill neighborhood remains dormant, but a renowned […]
Police say accused synagogue shooter talked of killing Jews
By Ramesh Santanam — October 12, 2021
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh police officers who responded to the synagogue building during a shooting three years ago that killed 11 people told a judge Tuesday that defendant Robert Bowers made several references to killing Jews. Officer Stephen Mescan was the first to testify in what is expected to be a two-day hearing into whether […]
Two years after Pittsburgh shooting, solemn anniversary marked online
By Yonat Shimron — October 27, 2020
(RNS) — Public commemorations of the 2018 shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue, which killed 11 Pittsburgh Jews, will be livestreamed.
One year after Tree of Life, a couple looks to the past for a way forward
By Yonat Shimron — October 24, 2019
VIENNA, Va. (RNS) — After losing his mother in the Tree of Life shooting, Howard leaned into his faith. His wife, Marnie, into activism.
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