The man sentenced to death for the mass shooting at a Squirrel Hill synagogue that killed 11 people is seeking a new trial.
Robert Bowers, 51, who was convicted over the summer of 63 counts for the Oct. 27, 2018, attack at the Tree of Life synagogue at Wilkins and Shady avenues, filed the motion for judgment of acquittal and new trial with U.S. District Judge Robert J. Colville on Wednesday.
The appeal, filed by Bowers’ trial defense team, includes a number of claims.
Among the claims: Defects in the court’s instructions to the jury; that the federal hate crime law under which Bowers was convicted does not apply to religion; that the government improperly cited the defendant’s animus toward Jews to obtain a death verdict; and that there was insufficient evidence to establish that Bowers intended specifically to obstruct the free exercise of religion for each of the victims.
“Based on the evidence presented at trial during the guilt phase, no rational juror could have found this specific-intent element,” the defense wrote. “So, too, if Mr. Bowers attacked the victims because of a hatred of Jews, since there was insufficient evidence that any such hatred was directed at them because they were religious or secular or were engaged in religious practices.”
Killed were Rose Mallinger, 97; Bernice Simon, 84, and her husband, Sylvan Simon, 86; brothers David Rosenthal, 54, and Cecil Rosenthal, 59; Dan Stein, 71; Irving Younger, 69; Dr. Jerry Rabinowitz, 66; Joyce Fienberg, 75; Melvin Wax, 87; and Richard Gottfried, 65. They were members of the Tree of Life-Or L’Simcha, Dor Hadash and New Light congregations.
The defense spent much of its court filing addressing the racial makeup of the jury. They asked that the court reconsider challenges they made during jury selection that the government’s decision to strike all four qualified Black jurors, the lone Hispanic juror and lone Jewish juror were improper.
According to the motion, the government’s acceptance rate for potential Black and Hispanic jurors was 0%, while its acceptance of qualified white jurors was 74%.
“Further, the government’s questioning of these five jurors reflects a disparate pattern that was likely intended to probe for a reason to strike the jurors of color,” the defense said. “It asked the white jurors who ultimately served on the jury an average of eight questions … its questioning of the jurors of color whom it struck was far more extensive.”
Related:
• Loved ones of synagogue shooting victims react to jury's death penalty vote
• Attorney Judy Clarke, defender of villains, cannot keep synagogue shooter from death row
• Pittsburgh synagogue shooter should be put to death, jury decides
The defense claims the U.S. Attorney’s Office gave pretextual reasons for removing those potential jurors from the panel and asked that Colville reopen the hearing on the issue.
“(I)n determining whether the government has met its burden to present race-neutral reasons for its strikes, the court should consider that, while multiple prosecutors were involved in the voir dire process, only one presented the justifications for the strikes,” the defense wrote. “And in so doing, that prosecutor did not represent that her presentation included all of the reasons each of the prosecutors had for all of the strikes.”
Bowers was sentenced to death Aug. 3 following nine days of testimony in the penalty phase of the trial.
He arrived on death row at the U.S. Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Ind., on Aug. 25.
Paula Reed Ward is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Paula by email at pward@triblive.com or via Twitter .