Robert Bowers, author of the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in the history of the United States, was sentenced to death by unanimous decision of a federal jury this Wednesday, August 2. The decision came from the same jury that in June found him guilty of 63 criminal charges, including hate crimes and obstruction of religious freedom resulting in death. The relatives of the victims expressed their support for the sentence, while the White House expressed its solidarity with the victims.
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The federal jury that found Robert Bowers guilty has decided the sentence. The author of the attack on a synagogue in Pittsburgh, where three congregations met during the Sabbath of October 27, 2018, has been sentenced to death.
The jury was unanimous: Bower’s attack was motivated by anti-Semitic hatred. They judged that the massacre was methodically planned, that the perpetrator chose the ‘Tree of Life’ synagogue because of its location in the center of one of the largest and most historic Jewish communities in the country. So, he killed 11 people and injured seven, including five police officers who tried to stop him.
The attack was done with the intent to “maximize the devastation, amplify the damage of their crimes, and instill fear in the local, national and international Jewish community,” the jury found. A judge will make the sentence official on Thursday.
In June, the defense team pleaded guilty to the defendant, pending a reduced sentence. However, federal prosecutors argued that capital punishment was the appropriate sentence, due to the vulnerable situation of the victims and because it was a hate crime against a specific religious community.
The victims were between the ages of 54 and 97. Among them were also people with cognitive disabilities. The ‘Nueva Luz’ congregation, one of the three affected, stated in a statement that although many of its members would prefer that the perpetrator of the crime be sentenced to life imprisonment, the community as a whole accepts the jury’s decision.
“We believe that, as a society, it is necessary to take a position: this act requires the maximum penalty under the law,” he declared.
Conflicting positions in the White House
This is the first death sentence by a federal court since Joe Biden took office as president. In the 2020 presidential campaign, he had pledged to end capital punishment in the United States.
The White House declared that “although today the unanimous decision of the federal jury in Pittsburgh is an important act against impunity, it will not bring back the 11 people who lost their lives, nor heal the grief and trauma of their loved ones” .
During the trial and the proclamation of the sentence, in which testimonies from survivors were heard, Bowers showed little reaction and expressed no remorse. In addition, he told the psychiatrists who treated him as part of the judicial process that he was proud of the attack, as if he were “a soldier in a race war.” His legal team declined to comment to the AP.
Before the attack, Bowers posted and shared highly anti-Semitic content on social media. He considered himself a white supremacist.
What happened the day of the attack?
“My world fell apart,” Sharyn Stein, the widow of Dan Stein, who died in the attack, told the jury.
During the trial, witnesses and survivors of the attack testified how Bowers stormed the synagogue, shooting randomly at those present. They explained that he reloaded his ammunition more than twice, and that he only stopped firing once when he ran out.
Survivors have testified to the immense pain they continue to feel, and the trauma experienced both physically and emotionally.
“Today we received a huge hug from the halls of Justice,” said Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, of the ‘Tree of Life’ congregation, a survivor of the massacre. “I am grateful to the law enforcement agencies that were in danger for rescuing us, and I am grateful to the United States Attorney for defending our right to pray in court,” he added.
![Hands of a Star of David from a fence outside the iconic inactive Tree of Life Synagogue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh on Thursday, July 13, 2023.](https://s.france24.com/media/display/b55ae56a-31ab-11ee-ac43-005056bf30b7/AP23194700954733.jpg)
The synagogue has been closed since 2018. Currently, the congregations that shared it seek to transform it into a place of worship, a museum and a memory center for the fight against anti-Semitism.
A national strategy in the face of the rise of anti-Semitism
Faced with the alarming rise of anti-Semitism in the United States, Biden presented the first ‘National Strategy Against Anti-Semitism’ on May 25, 2023.
Among its main objectives is to raise awareness about the dangers of anti-Semitism, promote the cultural heritage of Judaism in the country, as well as improve the security of Jewish communities.
“In America, hate will not prevail,” Biden declared. “The poison and violence of anti-Semitism will not be the story of our time.”
with PA
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