A visitor lays a flower on the makeshift memorial Saturday morning in front of the Tree of Life Synagogue on November 3, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Photo: AFP
A US federal jury has sentenced the attacker who killed 11 people at a synagogue in Pittsburgh in October 2018 to the death penalty.
The ruling needed a unanimous vote from the 12-member jury for the sentence to be imposed. Prosecutors had asked the jury to vote for the death penalty.
The same jury found the man guilty of all 63 charges stemming from the attack on the Tree of Life synagogue.
It was the worst antisemitic attack in American history.
The verdict was delivered to US District Court Judge Robert Colville on Wednesday. Colville is now expected to impose the jury's ruling.
The jury deliberated for 10 hours over two days, and reached the decision on its second day of deliberations.
Robert Bowers killed 11 worshippers in the attack, ranging in age from 54 to 97. Seven others were injured, including five police officers who rushed to the scene.
Robert Bowers who has been sentenced to death for the killing of 11 worshippers in a synagogue in Pittsburgh on 27 October 2018. Photo: AFP
Three congregations - Dor Hadash, New Light and the Tree of Life - shared the synagogue.
Most families of those killed in the attack have said they supported the death penalty for Bowers, although some, including the Dor Hadash congregation, have stated their opposition.
A survivor of the attack, Rabbi Jeffrey Myers of the Tree of Life Congregation, said on Wednesday the jury's decision provides closure to the community.
"Now that the trial is nearly over and the jury has recommended a death sentence, it is my hope that we can begin to heal and move forward," Rabbi Myers said.
Prosecutors had argued in closing arguments that the death sentence was necessary because the 50-year-old truck driver continues to espouse a hatred for Jews and has demonstrated no remorse for his actions.
"This is a case that calls for the most severe punishment under the law - the death penalty," US Attorney Eric Olshan said.
Bowers' defence argued that he suffers from mental health issues that causes him to hold delusional beliefs about Jewish people.
In Wednesday's verdict, the jury unanimously said the defence failed to prove the gunman suffered from a mental disorder or committed the crimes "under mental or emotional disturbance".
They also ruled that all five aggravating factors in the case were proven, which included Bowers' killing of the worshippers inside the synagogue as well as the permanent impact left on the survivors.
-BBC
- This story was first published by the BBC