Pittsburgh synagogue shooting: US jury seeks death sentence

A jury in Pittsburgh on Wednesday recommended that the gunman who stormed a synagogue in the heart of the city’s Jewish community killing 11 people be sentenced to death.

A judge will formally impose the sentence later, but if a jury unanimously agrees on the death penalty in such cases, the judge cannot reject their vote.

The attacker, 50-year-old Robert Bowers, was found guilty in June this year. His defense attorney did not dispute that he had planned and carried out the attack, the deadliest in US history targeting Jewish people.

The jury found two weeks ago that Bowers was eligible for the death penalty.

Prosecutors had argued in the sentencing phase that Bowers had the necessary intent and premeditation to qualify for the death penalty. They presented evidence of his careful planning of the attack and deliberate targeting of elderly vulnerable worshipers.

Bowers’ lawyers had argued that he suffered from major mental illness, including schizophrenia, and so should not be eligible.

Only around one in four countries in the world still maintain the death penalty in both law and in practice, however this includes some of the largest and most powerful ones in the world, including the US, China and India.