By DAVE DOWNEY<\/p>\n
Robert Bowers, the man accused of murdering 11 people in a hate-fueled massacre at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh last Saturday entered a plea of not guilty in a federal courtroom Thursday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe possible penalties,\u201d he was informed by Troy Rivetti, one of the prosecutors, \u201care first a sentence of death.\u201d Bowers did not flinch. Other than death,\u00a0possible outcomes are a variety of prison sentences from 10 years to life, connected to the 44 counts with which he is charged.<\/p>\n
Those charges vary from\u00a0hate crimes to using a firearm to commit murder in a crime of violence.<\/p>\n
It is somewhat surprising how many other\u00a0stories within the news are taking precedence over this, the deadliest anti-Semitic event in the U.S. since World War II.<\/p>\n
Although the general election is under a week away, this is the major news story of the week, and most outlets are analyzing ads and Trump’s tweets over the impacts within and outside of the Steel City.<\/p>\n
Bowers’ lawyer, Michael Novara, a federal public defender, requested a jury trial, which prosecutors estimated could take three to four weeks, or even longer if U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions certified it to indeed\u00a0be a capital case.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By DAVE DOWNEY Robert Bowers, the man accused of murdering 11 people in a hate-fueled massacre at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh last Saturday entered a plea of not guilty in a federal courtroom Thursday. \u201cThe possible penalties,\u201d … Continue reading