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Pittsburgh jury finds synagogue gunman eligible for the death penalty, setting up trial’s final phase
PITTSBURGH (JTA) — Jurors in the trial of the gunman who killed 11 Jewish worshipers in a Pittsburgh synagogue took less than two hours to find him eligible for the death penalty, setting up a final phase of the historic proceedings in which the gunman may be sentenced to death.
On Thursday morning, the seven women and five men on the jury unanimously found that Robert Bowers, who attacked the Tree of Life building on Oct. 27, 2018, met all four thresholds of intent necessary for capital punishment. The jurors also agreed with the government’s case that the crime carried four aggravating factors that exacerbated the shooter’s capital offenses. They were seemingly unmoved by the defense’s argument that the shooter’s antisemitism was a product of his delusion.
On June 16, the jury found the defendant guilty of 63 crimes, including 22 capital crimes — two for each fatality.
The final phase of the trial will begin on Monday. In that portion, the jury will decide whether to deliver a sentence of death or life imprisonment without possibility of release.
In that phase, the jury will hear impact statements from some family members of the 11 people murdered by the gunman. Jurors will also hear from people who were injured or otherwise affected. Prosecutors said they expected to bring seven witnesses over two to three days.
The defense will then bring witnesses to prove mitigating factors, which lawyers said they expected to last five to seven days. Those witnesses are expected to describe the hardships the gunman suffered over his lifetime.
“It has been nearly five years since 11 people were taken from us,” said Maggie Feinstein, the director of the 10.11 Healing Partnership, which frequently speaks for the families, in a statement.
“They were beloved and valued family members, friends and neighbors,” said Feinstein, who was in the courtroom. “They cannot speak for themselves, and so their family members will speak for them. In the next phase of the trial, our justice system will perform its duty to listen to their voices. We support them and we stand with them.”
The alacrity of the verdict — jurors met for about an hour after closing arguments on Wednesday, and less than an hour on Thursday morning — suggests they summarily rejected arguments advanced by the defense that the gunman’s antisemitism was a sign that he was delusional.
Expert psychiatric witnesses for both sides who interviewed the shooter recently say he has no regrets, and the defense sought to use that fact to bolster its medical arguments that he was schizophrenic and did not have the intent to kill required for a death sentence.
Outside the courtroom, Jeffrey Finkelstein, the CEO of the Pittsburgh Jewish Federation, said the argument that antisemitism is a delusion was a non-starter.
“It is clear that this was hatred of Jews. This was antisemitism. It is not mental health. They are two different things,” he said.
Some of the families of the dead and the injured were present in the courtroom when Judge Robert Colville read the verdict, as were two of the policemen who were injured during the attack.
The room was calm; there was little tension, and as they waited outside the courtroom to hear the verdict, the chatter among the families suggested they anticipated an eligibility verdict in part because of the how swiftly the jury brought the verdict
Members of Bowers’ family also were in the courtroom. One of the defense team brought his aunt a box of tissues; she never touched it.
Bowers as he has done since the start of the trial, betrayed no emotion. He bent over a notebook and wrote, clad in a dark blue sweater and a light blue collared shirt. He wore plain black framed glasses, which he does not often do.
Judy Clarke, a famous death penalty attorney and Bowers’ lead attorney, leaned over him and chatted with him before jury came into the room. She patted his back before returning to her seat.
The jury were clad in light summer clothes reflecting the humid weather in Pittsburgh on Thursday.
After Colville dismissed them until Monday, lawyers for the defense and the prosecution sparred over the mitigating factors the defense planned to present in the next phase. The lawyers, mindful of the continued presence of the public in the courtroom, would not say what the factors were, but it appeared as if the government believed that some of the mitigating factors the defense proposed were not eligible for use.
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The post Pittsburgh jury finds synagogue gunman eligible for the death penalty, setting up trial’s final phase appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.