The first day of the federal capital trial against Robert Bowers concluded yesterday. Bowers is accused of walking into the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh on November 4th, 2018 and killing 11 worshipers allegedly over the congregation’s role in resettling refugees in his area.
The trial is unique because it is only the second case during the presidency of Joe Biden, who campaigned on abolishing capital punishment, where federal prosecutors are aggressively pursuing the death penalty.
The decision to seek Bowers’ death boldly contradicts Attorney General Merrick Garland’s 2021 moratorium on capital punishment, which he opposes on the grounds that it has a disparate impact on black men. But in Bowers’ case, his Garland has shown extraordinary hypocrisy and ethnic favoritism by citing Bowers’ alleged “anti-Semitic” motive as a special circumstance necessitating an exception to their own rule. Several offers by Bowers’ defense to plead guilty to anything put in front of them and avoid a trial in exchange for taking the death penalty off the table have been roundly rejected by federal prosecutors. The feds have also fiercely fought the defense’s argument that killing Bowers is unconstitutional due to his clinically diagnosed mental illness.
Poster Comment:
Garland's family name was originally Garfinkel.