The man charged in the deadliest attack on Jewish people in US history lost another bid to get the death penalty removed as a possible punishment.
Jury selection is under way in the federal trial of Robert Bowers, who is charged with 63 criminal counts in the killings of 11 people on 27 October 2018 at the Tree of Life synagogue, where three congregations gathered.
The charges include 11 counts of obstruction of free exercise of religion resulting in death and 11 counts of hate crimes resulting in death.
Prosecutors say Bowers made antisemitic comments at the scene and in online forums.
On Tuesday, the judge ruled against a defense motion challenging the government’s pursuit of the death penalty.
The US district judge, Robert Colville, said Bowers’ defense “fail[ed] entirely to establish a basis upon which the court could conclude that the government has arbitrarily sought the death penalty in this case”.
More than 100 potential jurors have been questioned in the first seven days of jury selection, with a heavy focus on their views on a potential death sentence. The process resumed on Wednesday.
Bowers’ attorneys offered a guilty plea in return for a life sentence without parole but prosecutors are seeking death, a move most victims’ families support.
In a legal filing, Bowers’ lawyers argued the US justice department lacks “a discernible, principled basis” for seeking death against Bowers but not in comparable cases. The defense also objected to the procedure by which the government considered Bowers’ request to reconsider.
Judge Colville agreed with the government argument that Bowers failed to account for the differences between his case and the other cases.
Donald Trump, in office at the time of the Tree of Life attack, declared the killer should “suffer the ultimate price” and the death penalty should be brought back “into vogue”. Federal executions resumed during Trump’s presidency after a 17-year hiatus; 13 inmates were put to death in his last six months in office.
Joe Biden indicated during the 2020 campaign he would work to end the federal death penalty, but critics say he has since done nothing. The justice department put in place a moratorium in order to study policies and procedures. That has not prevented prosecutors from pursuing a death sentence for Bowers.
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