July 7, 2023 | 18 Tammuz 5783
Candlelighting 8:35 p.m. | Havdalah 9:42 p.m. | Vol. 66, No. 27 | pittsburghjewishchronicle.org
NOTEWORTHY LOCAL These Pittsburgh seniors are still in the game
Defense focuses on synagogue shooter’s mental health during the trial’s second phase
Longtime friends to compete in national tennis tournament LOCAL
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‘Remember the victims but not with more killing’: Protesters object to death penalty in 10/27 trial
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Sixty-plus years of connection and camaraderie
A view of the Joseph F. Weis Jr. U.S. Courthouse, downtown
Membership in the Allderdice Marquis Club is for life LOCAL
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A visual tribute to love and strength in Squirrel Hill
Artist’s mural honors victims of synagogue shooting Page 7
Photo by Alexandra Wimley/Pittsburgh Union Progress
By Chronicle Staff and Union Progress Staff
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he trial of the man found guilty of murdering 11 worshippers in the Tree of Life building, and seriously wounding six others, entered the penalty phase on June 26 and continued this week. At issue is whether the shooter will be sentenced to death or spend the rest of his life in prison. During the second phase of the trial — the eligibility phase — the prosecutors have to first prove the defendant had the requisite intent to commit a capital crime. They also have to convince the jury that at least one of four “aggravating” factors was present: That the shooter tried to kill others in the building; that he planned the crime; that the victims were vulnerable; or that he killed multiple people. During the eligibility phase, the defense team has focused almost entirely on intent, saying the shooter wasn’t able to form that intent because of brain impairments — including schizophrenia and epilepsy. To try to prove that, the lawyers have spent several days presenting experts to convince the jury that the defendant suffers
from brain dysfunction. If the jury decides that he is eligible for death, jurors will move to the final phase of determining his sentence: Life in prison or execution in the federal death chamber in Indiana. That phase will focus largely on victim-impact statements from the prosecution and mitigating evidence about the shooter’s life from the defense. Here is a recap of the testimony of Days 2-6 of the trial’s second phase. For more extensive and up-to-date coverage, go to pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
Donna Coufal, a member of Congregation Dor Hadash, speaks during a protest against the death penalty during an event organized by Death Penalty Action and the organization L’chaim! Jews Against the Death Penalty on Tuesday, June 27.
Photo by Alexandra Wimley/Union Progress
By Abigail Hakas | Staff Writer
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Two neurologists testified that the defendant’s brain showed signs of schizophrenia. Andrew Newberg, a neurologist at Thomas Jefferson University, testified that areas of the defendant’s brain displayed abnormalities on a PET scan taken in 2021. In particular, the scan showed that the left side of his brain was significantly more active than the right, an imbalance that Newberg says is consistent with a schizophrenia diagnosis.
y the time the trial proceedings ended for the day on June 27, a small group of anti-death penalty activists had gathered across the street from the federal courthouse to advocate against a death sentence for the man who murdered 11 people in the Tree of Life building in 2018. The scene was hectic, with car honks punctuating every few sentences as Donna Coufal, a member of Congregation Dor Hadash, listened to the names of the victims being read aloud: Joyce Fienberg, Richard Gottfried, Rose Mallinger, Jerry Rabinowitz, Cecil Rosenthal, David Rosenthal, Bernice Simon, Sylvan Simon, Daniel Stein, Melvin Wax and Irving Younger. “My heart goes out to all of the families who have lost family members, loved ones in this killing,” Coufal said. “No matter what the verdict is, no matter whether this ends with the
Please see Trial, page 10
Please see Protest, page 10
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Meet Paul Klein
A garage minyan
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