After three weeks of wrenching testimony, the prosecution and the defense delivered closing arguments on Thursday in the first phase of the federal trial of the man charged with carrying out the deadliest antisemitic attack in the country’s history.
Robert Bowers, 50, the man charged in the October 2018 killing of 11 worshipers at a Pittsburgh synagogue, faces the possibility of a death sentence if convicted.
The phase of the trial that concluded on Thursday in federal court here was to determine whether Mr. Bowers was guilty, and the outcome of this stage of the proceedings has not been in significant doubt.
The question at the heart of the case has long been whether Mr. Bowers, whose charges include 11 counts of killing people because of their religion, would be sentenced to death.
If the jury finds him guilty, the penalty he should face will be argued before the jury over the next several weeks.
Persons:
Robert Bowers, Bowers
Locations:
Pittsburgh