Jury in Pittsburgh synagogue massacre trial will hear more distressing testimony when penalty phase begins

By Steve Almasy, CNN

(CNN) — For much of the past two-plus weeks, many of the federal government’s 60 witnesses described the horror when a gunman entered the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018 and killed 11 worshippers – the deadliest attack ever on Jewish people in the United States.

A federal jury convicted the gunman Friday on all 63 charges against him, including 22 capital charges. On June 26, the same jury will again hear horrible details of the massacre and what those losses mean to families, as it decides the fate of Robert Bowers.

Bowers was convicted of 22 crimes – 11 capital counts of obstruction of free exercise of religious beliefs resulting in death and 11 capital counts of use of a firearm to commit murder during and in relation to a crime of violence. He faces the death penalty or life in prison.

Testimony from prosecution witnesses included a 911 operator who listened to a victim’s last words before she was fatally shot, a survivor who said one of the people who was killed fell inches from her, a police officer who had to step over bodies while rescuing a wounded SWAT member, and a wounded woman who refused to leave her mother as her mom died.

Other witnesses included medical, firearms and computer experts.

During the trial, defense attorneys acknowledged Bowers was the shooter but said he wanted to stop the congregation from working with an immigration group, the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society. They said it wasn’t an antisemitic attack.

The defense chose not to cross examine most people who testified and called none of their own witnesses. Bowers’ lawyers didn’t speak with reporters as they left the courthouse Friday.

During the penalty phrase, “The defense will put on more evidence,” Caroline Polisi, a federal and white-collar criminal defense attorney, told CNN. “They will try to argue that although he has been found guilty of these charges, he should not be given the death penalty.”

Penalty phase testimony will be ‘gut-wrenching’

The president of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh said Friday that survivors have taken the witness stand to provide important testimony despite the immense difficulty of that task. They will continue to do so in the next phase of the trial, Brian Schreiber said.

“We look forward to hearing the direct victim-impact testimony. They will be able to tell, in their own words, what that loss feels like,” said Schreiber, who lost friends in the attack.

Schreiber did not take an official stance on a potential death sentence for the gunman.

“It’s going to be gut-wrenching,” said Jeff Finkelstein, president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh. “It’s going to reopen wounds that keep getting reopened for us here in our Pittsburgh community – not just the Jewish community, but this greater Pittsburgh region. And I just encourage everyone to seek the support that they might need.”

The Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh has been providing support for those affected by the shooting through its 10.27 Healing Partnership program, which Schreiber said will continue to offer resources. The name of the program is a nod to the date, October 27, 2018, when the attack took place.

Finkelstein said he is “very pleased” with the verdict, adding he hoped evidence in the penalty phase will further emphasize the attack was indisputably an act of anti-Jewish hate.

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CNN’s Matt Meyer, Sabrina Souza and Eric Levenson contributed to this report.