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Thread: Robert Gregory Bowers - Federal Death Row

  1. #41
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Prosecutors will seek death penalty for Tree of Life shooting

    By WPXI News

    PITTSBURGH - Prosecutors will seek the death penalty against the man accused of killing 11 people inside the Tree of Life synagogue last fall.

    Robert Bowers allegedly went into the Squirrel Hill house of worship and opened fire on Saturday morning, Oct. 27.

    Monday, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it will seek the death penalty against Bowers.

    https://www.wpxi.com/news/top-storie...ting/979575933
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  2. #42
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    Court filings show prosecutors rejected Robert Bowers’ plea offer for life in prison

    By Megan Guza
    Trib Live

    Federal prosecutors rejected an offer from accused Tree of Life synagogue gunman Robert Bowers to plead guilty in exchange for life in prison, according to court documents filed Tuesday in federal court.

    Defense attorneys for Bowers have said from the beginning they hope to resolve the charges without going to trial. He is accused of killing 11 worshippers and injuring a half-dozen other people, including four police officers.

    Bowers’ attorneys noted the government’s rejection of a plea deal in filings entered in response to prosecutors’ push to set a trial date.

    The U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to comment on the recent filings.

    Prosecutors in the case last month filed a motion asking the judge to intervene and force the defense to agree to a schedule. The proposed draft schedule would have jury selection for Bowers, who faces 63 federal charges and the death penalty, begin Sept. 14, 2020.

    Defense counsel – which includes Judy Clarke and public defenders Elisa Long and Michael Novara – wrote in response to the draft schedule that such a timeline is “unrealistic” and fails to account for “the time-consuming work of investigating and presenting the history and background of a person on trial for his life,” as well as the slew of legal issues that come in the lead-up to the trial.

    Defense attorneys also noted that jury selection on Sept. 14 would place the trial during the Jewish High Holy Days and put a possible penalty phase, where jurors would decide whether Bowers would be put to death, near the time of the second-year mark of the Oct. 27 shooting.

    Bowers is accused of opening fire on Shabbat services at the synagogue, which housed the congregations Tree of Life or L’Simcha, Dor Hadash and New Light.

    Prosecutors argued in their initial filing that the victims of the Oct. 27 attack deserve timely justice.

    Defense attorneys responded by noting the judge should consider “that this case would already be over” if attorneys had accepted Bowers’ offer to plead guilty in exchange for life in prison with no chance of parole.

    “Instead, and against the publicly expressed request of two of the congregations to resolve this case without a trial, the government has insisted on pursuing the death penalty,” the defense team wrote.

    Leaders of congregations Dor Hadash and New Light had previously called on Attorney General William Barr to keep the death penalty off the table in hopes of forgoing the trauma of a drawn-out trial.

    Defense attorneys also argued that the proposed trial schedule would put proceedings at the tail end of the 2020 presidential election, in which they predicted Pennsylvania will likely be a battleground state.

    “(Donald Trump) – having already publicly called for our client’s execution – may be expected to politicize this case again” and pollute the potential jury pool, Bowers’ attorneys wrote.

    Defense counsel proposed their own potential deadlines, noting that they continue to wrestle with discovering issues with prosecutors. Their proposed deadlines include filing all discovery motions and an Aug. 10 status conference to set future dates for resolving other issues, including venue, jury selection and jury instructions.

    https://triblive.com/local/pittsburg...on-plea-offer/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  3. #43
    Senior Member CnCP Legend Mastro Titta's Avatar
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    Judge declines to set Bowers capital trial date, says she'll do it only after all motions are resolved

    Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

    U.S. District Judge Donetta Ambrose on Thursday said she'll set a trial date for Robert Bowers, accused of killing 11 at Tree of Life synagogue last year, only after all pre-trial motions are resolved.

    The Justice Department had requested a trial date be set for next year at this time, but the defense objected and so did two Jewish congregations at Tree of Life because they said it would conflict with the Jewish holidays.

    Judge Ambrose agreed with the defense and the congregations, saying she doesn't set trial dates in any of her cases until she's sure there won't be delays.

    "I don't want to move the trial date," she told both sides.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Soo Song had argued that the government's request for a date next October was an attempt to spare the victims' families from unreasonable delays.

    She also said that the trial wouldn't conflict with the Jewish holidays because jury selection alone will take weeks or possibly months, considering that the Justice Department is seeking the death penalty.

    But Judge Ambrose said she will not schedule the trial during the holidays and will wait until all pre-trial issues are done.

    "I'm just not sure when that will be," she said, but promised to keep the case moving.

    To that end, she gave the defense until mid-December to file constitutional challenges to the death penalty as well as other motions regarding discovery issues.

    The prosecution will have another month to respond.

    https://www.post-gazette.com/news/cr...s/201910310174

  4. #44
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    Judge sides with prosecution in legal battles over Pittsburgh synagogue shooting case

    By Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

    The federal judge overseeing the prosecution of accused Squirrel Hill synagogue shooter Robert Bowers has sided with the prosecution in disputes over discovery, saying the defense has not presented any evidence to support its contention that the Justice Department is not adhering to its pretrial obligations.

    Lawyers for Mr. Bowers have been sparring with the prosecution team for months over access to evidence and other issues in the capital case, in which Mr. Bowers is accused of killing 11 congregants at Tree of Life in October 2018.

    The lawyers said in one motion that the Justice Department has engaged in a “pattern of misapprehending its discovery obligations” by not turning over everything it has to the defense, including information favorable to Mr. Bowers.

    But U.S. District Judge Donetta Ambrose said it doesn't have to.

    In an order filed Tuesday, the judge denied a motion to force the government to provide the defense with all the originals of the physical evidence and an index of everything the FBI has collected.

    The U.S. attorney's office said it has given the defense all appropriate material and the defense isn't entitled to the entire case file.

    The judge agreed.

    “[Mr. Bowers] has not provided this court with any reason to infer that the government has failed to disclose exculpatory or evidence otherwise ‘material to preparing the defense,’ ” she ruled.

    She said she appreciates the lawyers’ “frustration” with discovery limitations, but the defense hasn't cited any statutes or case law to support its claim that discovery should be expanded beyond the normal rules governing federal cases.

    As in any federal prosecution, she said in citing case law, the defense has no right to search the government's entire file.

    “Contrary to the defendant’s assertions,” she wrote, “I am not persuaded that the government has demonstrated a ‘pattern of misapprehending its discovery obligations.’ ”

    In a related matter, Judge Ambrose also denied a defense motion for a broad protective order to keep the government from reviewing all of Mr. Bowers’ jail records, ruling that she would place off limits only records pertaining to his legal defense or his health.

    The government has said it isn't seeking those records anyway.

    Prosecutors do, however, want access to any logs noting Mr. Bowers' behavior in jail, any statements he's made, records of visits by anyone other than his lawyers, calls and mail, and his commissary records.

    https://www.post-gazette.com/news/cr...s/201911260125
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  5. #45
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    Judge Denies Motion To Drop Hate Crimes Charges Against Synagogue Shooting Suspect Robert Bowers

    By Lisa Washington
    CBS Pittsburgh

    PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A federal judge has denied a motion from the defense attorneys of Robert Bowers, who is the suspect in the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting, to have some of the charges against him dropped.

    Bowers’ defense argued to have charges related to the Hate Crimes Protection Act and the Church Arson Act dismissed.

    He has been in custody since the October 2018 massacre inside Tree of Life in Squirrel Hill, which left 11 people dead. His attorneys argued the Hate Crime Prevention Act and the Church Arson Act infringe on powers reserved for the states, not the federal government.

    “They’re making an age-old federalism argument,” said Constitution Law professor Jalila-Jefferson Bullock. “The problem with that argument is that there is ample Supreme Court precedent, ample federal court precedent that says that Congress, in fact, acted appropriately.”

    Jefferson-Bullock said the federal government can uphold the Hate Crimes Protection Act in Bowers’ case.

    She added, “It’s pretty well settled in law that the courts have taken a very expansive view on what race means for 13th Amendment purposes.”

    The attorneys argued since the victims were all Jewish, and were not subjected to slavery or bias in the United States, the hate crime charge was not applicable in this case. The Hate Crimes Prevention Act was authorized by the 13th Amendment.

    U.S. District Judge Donetta Ambrose issued a 20-page opinion, denying the motion, noting that the 13th Amendment was not meant solely for African slavery.

    Jefferson-Bullock said presenting the motion aggravates the charges Bowers faces.

    “What it does do is aggravate his charges,” she said. “This is a hate crimes enhancement, so he’s going to face larger jail time, different questions during his trial.”

    If he’s convicted in Federal Court, Bowers faces the death penalty.

    https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2020...arges-dropped/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  6. #46
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    Judge denies Bowers' motion for government to produce evidence that it monitored his online activities prior to Tree of Life shooting

    By Paula Reed Ward
    Trib Live

    A federal judge on Monday denied a defense motion seeking evidence the government monitored Robert Bowers’ anti-Semitic activity online leading up to the 2018 Tree of Life shooting that killed 11 people.

    In her ruling, U.S. District Judge Donetta Ambrose said the information Bowers is seeking is irrelevant.

    “The government was not involved in the offenses charged and any alleged notice it may have had of the defendant’s online activities does not otherwise lessen or explain the defendant’s conduct,” she wrote.

    Bowers’ attorneys filed a motion in March asking that federal prosecutors be required to turn over any evidence the government had monitored the man’s activities in the months before the shooting.

    They alleged the information could be used as a mitigating circumstance in the event his case goes to a penalty phase.

    The U.S. Attorneys’ office is seeking the death penalty for Bowers, who is accused of opening fire the morning of Oct. 27, 2018, during Shabbat services at the Squirrel Hill synagogue that housed the Tree of Life-Or L’Simcha, Dor Hadash and New Life congregation.

    If the case goes to a penalty phase, the government will present aggravating factors to support its argument that Bowers should be put to death. Aggravators the prosecution outlined include that he committed the acts after substantial planning and premeditation, he was motivated by religious animus based on expressions of hate and contempt toward the Jewish faith; and he chose the synagogue for the shooting with the intent to instill fear in the Jewish community.

    The U.S. Attorney’s office noted in court filings that Bowers researched Dor Hadash online and shared his animosity toward Jewish people on Gab.com.

    But Bowers’ defense attorneys argued the government’s awareness of the potential for a person to commit acts of violence — and the government’s capacity to deter such acts — could be a mitigating factor that a jury can consider in choosing life in prison for a defendant instead of the death penalty.

    Among the examples of mitigating factors are: impaired capacity; duress; being a minor; having no prior criminal record; and severe mental or emotional disturbance.

    But, in her nine-page opinion, Ambrose found the information being sought does not fall within the definition of mitigating evidence — even with a broad definition.

    “The defendant seeks information which, if it exists, would suggest that the government had the opportunity to intervene and stop any conduct suggested by comments made on social media,” Ambrose wrote. “Such evidence would not tend to prove or disprove a fact or circumstance which a fact-finder could reasonably deem to have mitigating value. It does not point to any aspect of the defendant’s character or record or circumstances of the offense that would diminish the defendant’s moral culpability. Any knowledge that the government, in whatever capacity, may have had regarding the defendant’s activities on Gab.com prior to the crimes at issue, is irrelevant.”

    https://triblive.com/local/regional/...life-shooting/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  7. #47
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    Judge rejects suppression motions in Tree of Life case

    Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

    The federal judge presiding over the death penalty case of Robert Bowers on Thursday rejected numerous defense efforts to suppress evidence from FBI searches of Mr. Bowers' house, vehicle and electronic devices.

    U.S. District Judge Donetta Ambrose denied all the motions except one regarding an email account, which she said she'll hold in abeyance until she hears an argument about it.

    Mr. Bowers faces the federal death penalty in the October 2018 massacre of 11 worshippers at the Tree of Life synagogue.

    The defense team — two public defenders and a California anti-death penalty activist — have challenged the granting of various search warrants by U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert Mitchell in the aftermath of the shootings.

    In one motion, the lawyers contend that the affidavits for the searches of Mr. Bowers' home and vehicle failed to establish probable cause, lacked specifics and that the searches were conducted after the warrants expired.

    Judge Ambrose rejected the motion. "Contrary to [Bowers'] characterization, the warrants did not afford executing agents unbridled or unfettered discretion to rummage" for evidence, the judge ruled.

    She said the warrants for searches limited permission to listed items and refer to motive, which was part of the specific crime at issue in that Mr. Bowers is charged with hate crimes in targeting Jews. A second warrant for the house was limited to evidence of bomb-making, she said, and a third warrant for the home was similar to the first. "The warrants thus distinguished the specified items from the multitude of items unrelated to defined criminal behavior; they did not authorize a wholesale, exploratory rummaging," Judge Ambrose wrote.

    A second motion challenged an FBI warrant for medical records filed on Feb. 10, 2020, pertaining to medical exams by two doctors in 2015 and 2017 for a Department of Transportation Commercial Driver's License application. Mr. Bowers was a truck driver.

    Mr. Bowers' lawyers said the warrant lacked specifics and was an "illegal general warrant." But Judge Ambrose said the warrant was sufficiently limited in scope. She noted that the FBI said in an affidavit that the government will be required to prove that Mr. Bowers acted willfully and that his "mental health will be at issue in this prosecution at both the guilt and penalty phases.” She said the affidavit was “not so lacking in indicia of probable cause as to make belief in its existence objectively unreasonable.” She said there are no grounds to suppress.

    The defense had also argued that search warrants for Mr. Bowers' email accounts failed to establish probable cause. Judge Ambrose largely rejected that contention, too. She said the FBI's affidavit for the search laid out the details of the shooting and made note that during the attack Mr. Bowers "made audible statements regarding genocide, his desire to kill Jewish people and that Jewish people needed to die."

    The affidavit further recounted evidence that Mr. Bowers made various anti-Semitic statements in online posts prior to the attacks. Judge Ambrose said the fact that the affidavit does not explicitly provide sources for each fact "does not negate the reasonable inferences to be drawn from the totality of the information."

    Judge extends pretrial motions in case of accused Tree of Life shooter

    She said evidence recovered from the search of 1 email account, ODGPhone@gmail.com, will not be suppressed, nor will the recovery of Mr. Bowers' mobile phone equipment identity number.

    The defense also challenged the FBI seizure of a 2nd email account, onedingo@gmail.com, from December 2007 to March 2008. The judge said she won't rule on that motion until she hears an argument.

    https://www.post-gazette.com/news/cr...s/202107080168

  8. #48
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    Bowers lawyers won't seek insanity defense but still want more time; U.S. says no more delays

    By TORSTEN OVE
    The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

    Lawyers for accused Tree of Life mass killer Robert Bowers say they do not intend to seek an insanity or intellectual disability defense, but they still want more time to gather mental health evidence and are asking for a Monday deadline to be pushed back once again.

    Federal prosecutors say the defense shouldn't be allowed any more delays in the three-year-old case and want the judge to enforce the deadline.

    Mr. Bowers is accused of gunning down 11 worshippers at Tree of Life synagogue on Oct. 27, 2018. The government is seeking the death penalty. Mr. Bowers' lawyers are trying to negotiate a plea that will spare him execution.

    U.S. District Judge Donetta Ambrose had previously set a Nov. 15 deadline for the defense to file what's known as a Rule 12.2 notice, which requires a defendant to notify the U.S. attorney's office of an intention to pursue a mental health defense in order to give prosecutors time to have their own experts do an evaluation.

    The defense team — Michael Novara, Elisa Long, Michael Burt and Judy Clarke — on Tuesday filed a motion saying they aren't seeking an insanity defense.

    They also said they won't pursue a defense under a case known as Atkins v. Virginia, which bars the execution of people with intellectual disabilities as cruel and unusual punishment.

    But they said that the team still "respectfully requests that the court allow [Mr. Bowers] the necessary time to complete its mental health expert work — work that is well underway — by resetting" the Monday deadline.

    The lawyers asked the judge to give them until March 1 to present mental health evidence pertaining to Mr. Bowers' guilt and until 60 days before the start of a trial to present similar evidence as to the death penalty phase.

    In a separate motion also filed Tuesday, the lawyers are asking that they be allowed to file a document outlining the mental health evidence under seal and without the U.S. attorney's office being allowed to see it.

    The prosecutors — Soo Song, Troy Rivetti and Julie Gegenheimer — say the defense has already been given repeated extensions and that no more are justified.

    "The defendant continues to labor under the false impression that it is up to him — and not this court — to decide the appropriate time to provide the required notice under Rule 12.2," the prosecutors said in a motion filed Thursday. "In the defendant’s view, if he believes he needs more time, then he is necessarily entitled to more time. Of course, if that were true, this case would grind to a halt."

    As they have in the past, the prosecutors accused the defense of dragging out the case.

    "The court has also already given the defendant repeated extensions, ample time, resources, and firm directives to the defendant to make good use of this time and complete his mental health investigation and examinations," the prosecutors wrote. "Meanwhile, the defendant’s delay continues to cause the government grave prejudice and to grievously impact crime victims."

    The prosecution is also asking Judge Ambrose to deny the defense request to file the secret mental health document regarding Mr. Bowers.

    The government lawyers say that such "ex parte" motions — in which one party can't see what the other filed — are disfavored by the courts.

    "More importantly," they said, "this court does not require an ex parte sealed filing to conclude that, after more than two years of litigation on the same issue, it has fully considered all defense arguments in setting the deadline and provided the defendant with ample time, resources, and notice to meet that deadline."

    https://www.post-gazette.com/news/cr...s/202111120088
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  9. #49
    Senior Member CnCP Addict maybeacomedian's Avatar
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    Robert Bowers: Attorneys For Suspected Tree Of Life Gunman Seek Racial Data Of Prospective Juror Pool

    PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Accused Tree of Life gunman Robert Bowers and his legal team continue to challenge the jury selection system in Western Pennsylvania.

    His defense team just filed another motion asking for the “geocoding data” and “programming code” used by a government expert hired to assess the jury pool in the area.

    Bowers is accused of killing 11 Jewish congregants as they prayed at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood in 2018.

    He claims the list of registered voters used to find jury members “significantly underrepresent” African-Americans, African-American men, Hispanics and people who don’t identify themselves as non-Hispanic whites.

    The government’s expert concluded the list of registered voters used for the 2016 jury wheels does represent the people of voting age in the Pittsburgh area, saying Black and Hispanic people are not underrepresented on the voter registration list.

    Last month, citing pre-trial publicity, Bowers’ defense team argued he won’t be able to get a fair trial and filed for a change of venue.

    https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime...ool/ar-AATEIH6
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  10. #50
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    Judge Denies Motion To Move Trial For Robert Bowers, Accused Tree Of Life Shooter

    By KDKA-TV News Staff

    PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – A federal judge denied the request to change the venue of the trial for the man accused of killing 11 people at the Tree of Life in 2018.

    The judge denied the defense attorneys for Robert Bowers nearly 3,900-page change of venue motion. His defense team alleged that media coverage of the attack and other community rallies would make it impossible for Bowers to get a fair trial.

    A seven-page opinion from U.S. District Judge Robert Colville denied the request saying that it has been more than three years since the attack and media attention has lessened.

    Bowers’ defense attorneys also alleged that said media attention would make it impossible to impanel an impartial jury.

    “Given this large, diverse pool of potential jurors, the suggestion that 12 impartial individuals could not be impaneled is hard to sustain,” the judge responded.

    This was in reference to there being more than 2.1 million people for the jury to pull from in the case.

    https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2022...change-motion/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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