June 30, 2023 | 11 Tammuz 5783
Candlelighting 8:36 p.m. | Havdalah 9:44 p.m. | Vol. 66, No. 26 | pittsburghjewishchronicle.org
As penalty phase begins in synagogue shooting trial, defendant’s lawyers say he has history of suicide attempts
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problems date to his childhood and left him “unable to make proper decisions based on his delusional beliefs.” Bowers was convicted two weeks ago of slaughtering 11 worshippers from three congregations at the synagogue building. The parties are now squaring off over whether he is eligible for the death penalty. Prosecutors argue that he is and said they’ll show why. To get a death sentence, they have to prove that the defendant acted with intent. They also have to introduce at least one “aggravating factor” and prove it beyond a reasonable doubt. Assistant U.S. Attorney Troy Rivetti said the government can present many. In addition to those he killed, he said, the defendant created a “grave risk” to a dozen others he tried to kill. Rivetti also said the defendant carefully planned the attacks,
shadow requires light and an object. If the object expires, though, how does the shadow remain? Rabbi Simon Jacobson, a disciple of the late Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, known as the Lubavitcher Rebbe, raised the question about his former teacher: “It’s been 29 years since the Rebbe’s passing from this physical world. Why are we still remembering this man? Gathering together? And frankly, what is the secret that Chabad and Lubavitch continue to grow and thrive, despite the fact that the Rebbe is not here?” For more than an hour, Jacobson, author of The New York Times bestselling book “Toward a Meaningful Life” and publisher of Algemeiner Journal, recalled his teacher’s lessons and regaled nearly 100 attendees at the Jewish Community of Center of Greater Pittsburgh with quips and memories during a June 20 address sponsored by the Chabad Centers of Western Pennsylvania. Jacobson, who said he was “trained by the Rebbe himself,” told the crowd that one of Schneerson’s greatest teachings is that “we don’t take anything for granted.” He then posed the quandary: “What would the world be like if the Rebbe did not exist — you want to add ‘God forbid’ or ‘chas v’shalom’
Please see Trial, page 14
Please see Rebbe, page 14
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By Torsten Ove | Contributing Writer
T
he defendant in the synagogue shooting case has been institutionalized for psychiatric issues and has attempted suicide, one of his lawyers told a federal court jury on Monday. Attorney Michael Burt introduced those revelations as part of a defense effort to bolster the contention that the defendant is impaired and shouldn’t be executed for the massacre in the Tree of Life building. Burt said in opening statements in the eligibility phase of the trial that Robert Bowers, 50, suffers from “chronic mental illness” that led directly to the mass killing on Oct. 27, 2018. He said various doctors will testify about brain scans that show structural abnormalities. The defendant, he said, is schizophrenic and suffers from epilepsy. His psychiatric
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