The man accused of fatally shooting 11 Jewish worshipers and wounding several others at the Tree of Life Synagogue in 2018 has been found guilty on all counts by a jury after four weeks of testimony.
Robert Bowers, 50, of Baldwin, was charged with 63 federal counts, including 11 counts of a hate crime that resulted in death.
Jurors began deliberating on the charges at mid-afternoon Thursday and resumed that process Friday morning. They notified U.S. District Judge Robert Colville around 11:20 a.m. Friday that they had reached a verdict, which was delivered at 11:55 a.m.
Bowers' sentence will not be determined immediately. He previously attempted to plead guilty to the charges in exchange for a sentence of life in prison, however, prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
The verdict represents the conclusion of the first phase of Bowers' trial in U.S. District Court. A second will take place to determine whether he will, indeed, be sentenced to death.
Tree of Life Congregation Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, an attack survivor, said he was “grateful to God for getting us to this day. And I am thankful for the law enforcement who ran into danger to rescue me, and the U.S. Attorney who stood up in court to defend my right to pray.”
The victims killed by Bowers included Joyce Fienberg, Richard Gottfried, Rose Mallinger, Jerry Rabinowitz, brothers Cecil Rosenthal and David Rosenthal, husband and wife Sylvan and Bernice Simon, Daniel Stein, Melvin Wax, and Irving Younger.
They belonged to three congregations that worshipped at the Tree of Life synagogue: Congregation Dor Hadash, New Light Congregation and Tree of Life / Or L'Simcha.
The attack, in which six worshipers and police officers also were shot and wounded, is believed to represent the deadliest antisemitic assault in U.S. history.
Throughout the month-long trial, the prosecution included testimony from worshipers, rabbis and religious leaders, and Pittsburgh Police. Many victims recalled harrowing moments of hiding from Bowers — who police confirmed was the gunman in the courtroom.
Prosecutors offered social media posts accessed and posted by Bowers, including many containing explicitly anti-Jewish sentiments and slurs. The FBI also confirmed that a white-power gesture was found on Bowers' phone.
The trial was often emotional, with victims having to recall the worst day of their lives, or hear taped 911 calls that recorded their desperate pleas for help.
The courtroom was silent as Colville read the verdict for each count. At least one survivor of the shooting could be seen nodding her head as she listened. Two family members of shooting victims hugged in the hallway after court was dismissed.
Local Jewish leaders voiced support for the outcome of the trial’s first phase, but they said they remain cognizant of its toll.
“It's really hard to express how I'm feeling right now because there have been so many emotions and so much intensity throughout the testimony and the closing statements yesterday,” said Jo Recht, president of Congregation Dor Hadash. “I am feeling a sense of relief that after four and a half years, the world has heard again about the horrific acts on Oct. 27, 2018, and the shooter is being held accountable for those awful acts.”
Also, the trial isn’t over yet and the community is still grieving, said Jeff Finkelstein, the president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh.
“As someone who was in the courtroom today, I can personally speak about how emotional this was to be in there with so many of the families I've gotten to know from that horrible day in 2018 and to be in the room with the person who committed this heinous antisemitic crime,” Finkelstein said.
“This is tough. We are reliving what took place in 2018 once again,” he said. “And — I know I speak for all of us who were there today — it's very retraumatizing,”
Finkelstein encouraged people to seek out help and resources to deal with that trauma, such as those being offered by the 10.27 Healing Partnership.
Though the next step in the legal process is clear, community members don’t know what will happen during the sentencing phase of the trial — and there’s a lot of uncertainty ahead, said New Light Congregation co-President Stephen Cohen.
“We don't know … what the defense will argue and what the jury will hear. We look forward to a final just conclusion and a just punishment for the horrible, horrendous deed done four and a half years ago,” he said.
Many also expressed their thanks to first responders, witnesses and the court personnel who ensured the first phase of the trial went smoothly.
Tree of Life Congregation President Alan Hausman noted that the synagogue is mere blocks away from the former house of the late TV icon Fred Rogers.
“In times of crisis, Mr. Rogers used to say to look for the helpers," he said. "We've been very fortunate to be surrounded by many, many helpers."
In a statement, members of the New Light Congregation also noted that only the first phase of the trial has been completed and that the second phase to determine Bowers' sentence lies ahead.
"During this phase, there were no claims of innocence or mistaken identity. Eyewitnesses placed [Bowers] and his weapons in the building. He was indiscriminate in his task, shooting both worshippers and police officers. Survivors were forced to relive the day’s trauma; while family members suffered through testimony recalling the final minutes of their loved ones. He came to kill Jews and, if not for the protective equipment worn by the police, might well have killed them, too.
"There can be no forgiveness. Forgiveness requires two components: that it is offered by the person who commits the wrong and is accepted by the person who was wronged. The shooter has not asked — and the dead cannot accept."
Questions on intent
Before issuing their verdict, jurors asked only one question of the judge during their deliberations: Around 10:45 a.m., Friday, they asked if Bowers had to have known about the presence of his surviving victims in order to be convicted of obstructing the worship of eight people who escaped uninjured from the synagogue, including Martin Gaynor, Joseph Charny, Carol Black, Audrey Glickman, Jonathan Perlman, Stephen Weiss, Barry Werber and Rabbi Myers.
Defense lawyer Michael Burt argued that Bowers did need specific knowledge of a person in order to form the intent to commit homicide, and he maintained that Colville should tell the jury this. In turn, the judge asked the defense whether or not a person had the intent to kill if that person left a bomb in a car without knowing who it would kill.
The defense responded that the hypothetical bomber could be convicted of "some crime," such as homicide, under a "wanton-disregard" standard, but that the bomber couldn't be convicted of attempted murder. Colville expressed skepticism, saying "many would argue" that dropping off a bomb would be "more than reckless," but he cut himself off mid-question from asking more.
Prosecutors argued that they had proven that Bowers had the intent to kill everyone he found in the synagogue, and that included people he didn't know specifically were present. They said the definition of intent required Bowers to only have taken a substantial step — for example, driving to a location with the intent to kill someone, but that person didn't have to be there or could've escaped. That would still show intent to kill, they said.
Colville responded that it would be up to the jury to decide whether the prosecution had proved that Bowers intended to kill everyone he found. A half-hour later, the jury signaled that it had reached its conclusions.
After examining the 27-page verdict slip, Colville noted that the jury initially had written "no" for two of the counts listed on it — indicating that the prosecution hadn't met its burden to prove those charges — but then crossed out "no" and replaced it with "yes." Those are the same counts that prompted the jury's question earlier in the morning.
Court will not resume until June 26. The lawyers will have an additional week to prepare for the next phase of the trial, which will determine whether Bowers is sentenced to death or life in prison. Up until now, the expert psychological evaluations of Bowers have been hidden from the opposing side's lawyers, but those reports will be made available to both sides on Sunday.
Faith leaders respond
Following the announcement of the verdict, local Jewish leaders voiced support for the outcome of the trial’s first phase, but they said they remain cognizant of its toll.
“It's really hard to express how I'm feeling right now because there have been so many emotions and so much intensity throughout the testimony and the closing statements yesterday,” said Jo Recht, president of congregation Dor Hadash. “I am feeling a sense of relief that after four and a half years, the world has heard again about the horrific acts on Oct. 27, 2018, and the shooter is being held accountable for those awful acts.”
And the trial isn’t over yet and the community is still grieving, said Jeff Finkelstein, the president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh.
“As someone who was in the courtroom today, I can personally speak about how emotional this was to be in there with so many of the families I've gotten to know from that horrible day in 2018 and to be in the room with the person who committed this heinous antisemitic crime,” he said.
“This is tough. We are re-living what took place in 2018 once again,” he said. “And — I know I speak for all of us who were who were there today — it's very retraumatizing,”
Finkelstein encouraged people to seek out help and resources, such as those being offered by the 10.27 Healing Partnership.
Though the next step in the legal process is clear, community members don’t know what will happen during the sentencing phase of the trial — and there’s a lot of uncertainty ahead, said New Light congregation co-p President Stephen Cohen.
“We don't know … what the defense will argue and what the jury will hear. We look forward to a final just conclusion and a just punishment for the horrible, horrendous deed done four and a half years ago,” he said.
Many also expressed their thanks to first responders, witnesses and the court personnel who ensured the first phase of the trial went smoothly.
Tree of Life Congregation President Alan Hausman noted that the synagogue is just blocks away from TV icon Fred Rogers’ house.
“In times of crisis, Mr. Rogers used to say to look for the helpers. We've been very fortunate to be surrounded by many, many helpers,” he said.
