Pittsburgh synagogue shooting trial reaches closing arguments on potential death penalty

The gunman who killed 11 people at Pittsburgh's Tree of Life synagogue in 2018 should be sentenced to death, federal prosecutors argued to a jury on Monday, specifically noting his hatred for Jews and ongoing lack of remorse.

"He turned an ordinary Jewish Sabbath into the worst antisemitic mass shooting in US history, and he is proud of it," US Attorney Eric Olshan said of the defendant, Robert Bowers.

"This is a case that calls for the most severe punishment under the law - the death penalty," he said.

In contrast, defense attorney Judy Clarke argued his unstable childhood and mental health issues played a role in his "delusional" beliefs. She encouraged the jury to make their own personal moral decisions about the punishment.

"You've held Rob Bowers accountable. You've convicted him of 63 counts, you've found him eligible for jury sentencing. Now we ask you to choose life and not death," she said.

The closing arguments took place Monday in the federal death penalty trial of Bowers, 50, who was found guilty on June 16 of all 63 charges against him for carrying out the deadliest ever attack on Jewish people in the US. Twenty-two of those counts were capital offenses.

The jury further found he was eligible for the death penalty on July 13, moving the trial to a final sentencing stage.