🗞️🌺 Breaking News: Jury Convicts Man in Killing of 11 in Pittsburgh Synagogue 🕍💔
💥 Da gunman dat wen take da lives of 11 people insai one Pittsburgh synagogue back in October 2018, he wen get guilty verdicts on top plenny federal hate crimes and civil rights offenses dis past Friday. Dis show da end of da first stage of da trial, but stay tuned cuz da next thing goin’ happen stay da decision about whether Robert Bowers, da defendant, going get sentenced to death. ⚖️😢
Afta five long hours spread ovah two days, da jury wen find Robert Bowers guilty on top all 63 counts, dat include 25 firearms-related offenses and 11 charges of obstructing da free exercise of religious beliefs. 🔫😔🛡️
When da trial start up again on June 26, den da real question goin’ be da punishment. Da jury goin’ listen to arguments about if Mr. Bowers, who stay 50 years old, can get sentenced to death fo’ dese crimes. If da jurors tink he should, den dey goin’ decide if da death sentence goin’ stick. ☠️🔒⚖️
Dis next part of da trial goin’ be choke wit’ testimony about Mr. Bowers’s mental health and his upbringing, da lives of da people he wen kill, and da impact of dea loss on dea families and the community. All togeddah, dey tink dis goin’ last ’bout one month and a half. 🗣️💭🏥
Inside da courtroom, you could hear one pin drop as U.S. District Court Judge Robert J. Colville read out da verdicts. Da survivors of the attack and da relatives of dose who wen get killed, dey wen hold hands tight. One wahine, she wen hide insai one closet while Mr. Bowers wen hunt down worshipers in da synagogue. She wen nod her head each time da judge read out one verdict dat had someting to do wit’ her. 🙏💔🙇♀️
Nobody really get big doubts about how dis first part of da trial was going end. Mr. Bowers’s lawyers, dey nevah question much of da witnesses da prosecution wen bring, and dey nevah call nobody fo’ testify fo’ dem. Dey nevah argue dat Mr. Bowers nevah plan and execute da massacre, which people say stay da deadliest antisemitic attack inside U.S. history. 😮🤔
Da main goal fo’ da defense, like dey wen talk about befo’ da trial, stay fo’ avoid da death sentence. Mr. Bowers’s lawyers wen try fo’ get him fo’ plead guilty to all da counts in exchange fo’ one life sentence inside prison wit’ no chance fo’ parole, but da Justice Department wen turn down dose offers. 🚫🔒😕
In dis first part of da trial, da defense lawyers wen bring up questions ’bout Mr. Bowers’s motives and intent, and if da evidence da government wen show was enough fo’ prove some of da federal charges. Dey also wen mention dat Mr. Bowers’s state of mind going be one important part of dea argument during da penalty phase. 🤔💭🔎
“How and why dis man, who stay law-abiding and nevah bother nobody up until October 27, 2018, decide fo’ cause all dis chaos and destruction?” Elisa Long, one federal public defender representing Mr. Bowers, wen ask in her closing argument. 🧐🔍💥
Da verdict on Friday come afta three weeks of testimony. Inside da court, da witnesses wen tell da story ’bout how da worshipers wen hide inside closets or lay near death inside one hallway while Mr. Bowers wen stalk da Tree of Life synagogue wit’ three handguns and one semiautomatic rifle. 💔🕍🔫
“We were filled with terror,” said Andrea Wedner, who recounted lying on the floor of a chapel, her right arm shattered by bullets, and trying to comfort her dying 97-year-old mother. “It’s indescribable,” she said. 💔😨💥
Da 60 witnesses called by the prosecution included police officers who rushed into da synagogue, some of whom were injured in shootouts wit’ Mr. Bowers; businessmen who sold Mr. Bowers his gun holsters; da chief executive of Gab.com, da social media site where Mr. Bowers had posted prolifically about his hatred of Jews and immigrants; and da president of one Jewish organization dat helps resettle refugees — one mission dat Mr. Bowers said made him attack da synagogue. 👮♂️💥💼📱🤬
Da testimony was often harrowing. Recordings of 911 calls were played, filling da courtroom with da sounds of people being shot to death. Prosecutors showed graphic photographs of da aftermath. Pathologists described autopsies in clinical detail: one bullet wound so severe dat dey “could see inside da space where da brain sits”; one woman killed by one gunshot dat “more or less cut da heart in two.” 💔📞📷🔪🩸
Experts testified about da barrage of antisemitic posts dat Mr. Bowers had made on Gab.com, celebrating da Holocaust and calling for da eradication of Jews. 🤬🌍🔥
“Da message dat da defendant chose to tell da world about himself was clear and unambiguous: He is filled wit’ hatred for Jews,” Mary Hahn, one federal prosecutor, said in her closing argument. 🗣️🗯️🤬
Other witnesses were called upon to describe tenets of da Jewish faith, and to explain how da three congregations had changed afta da attack. 🛐✡️🕌
“We don’t have da same attendance,” said Stephen Weiss, da longtime ritual director for Tree of Life. It has been more difficult to reach da required minyan, or quorum, of 10 people in order to recite certain prayers. Those members who could always be counted on to show up on time for services, Mr. Weiss said: “They were killed.” 💔🙏😭
During much of dis testimony, da defense team sat quietly, asking a few questions of some of da prosecution’s expert witnesses but largely letting da proceedings unfold on da government’s terms. Da defense lawyers indicated at several points dat dea case would come mostly in da subsequent phases of da trial. 🤐🤔⚖️
There has not been agreement among da three congregations or within dem about whether Mr. Bowers should be sentenced to death. Many of dea members are bracing fo’ one painful few weeks ahead. 😥💔😢
“It’s difficult to say, da emotions we feel right now,” Stephen Cohen, one co-president of da New Light congregation, said on Friday afta da proceedings was ovah. “Relief, obviously,” he told reporters, expressing gratitude to da prosecutors. “But there’s also a degree of trepidation. Because dis is just da first third of da trial. And in a sense, it was da least complicated part.” 😌🙏😓
Dis trial stay far from ova. As da jury move forward, da fate of Robert Bowers goin’ hang in da balance. Da court goin’ weigh all da evidence and arguments to decide if da death sentence goin’ be imposed. Stay tuned as dis high-stakes legal battle continue to unfold. ⚖️🔄🔒
NOW IN ENGLISH
🗞️🌺 Breaking News: Jury Convicts Man in Killing of 11 in Pittsburgh Synagogue 🕍💔
💥 The gunman that went on to take the lives of 11 people inside a Pittsburgh synagogue back in October 2018, he has received guilty verdicts on plenty of federal hate crimes and civil rights offenses this past Friday. This shows the end of the first stage of the trial, but stay tuned because the next thing that will happen is the decision about whether Robert Bowers, the defendant, is going to get sentenced to death. ⚖️😢
After five long hours spread over two days, the jury has found Robert Bowers guilty on all 63 counts, which include 25 firearms-related offenses and 11 charges of obstructing the free exercise of religious beliefs. 🔫😔🛡️
When the trial starts up again on June 26, then the real question will be the punishment. The jury will listen to arguments about if Mr. Bowers, who is 50 years old, can get sentenced to death for these crimes. If the jurors think he should, then they will decide if the death sentence is going to stick. ☠️🔒⚖️
This next part of the trial is going to be choked with testimony about Mr. Bowers’s mental health and his upbringing, the lives of the people he went on to kill, and the impact of their loss on their families and the community. Altogether, they think this is going to last about one month and a half. 🗣️💭🏥
Inside the courtroom, you could hear a pin drop as U.S. District Court Judge Robert J. Colville read out the verdicts. The survivors of the attack and the relatives of those who were killed, they held hands tight. One woman, she hid inside a closet while Mr. Bowers went to hunt down worshippers in the synagogue. She nodded her head each time the judge read out a verdict that had something to do with her. 🙏💔🙇♀️
Nobody really had big doubts about how this first part of the trial was going to end. Mr. Bowers’s lawyers, they never questioned much of the witnesses the prosecution brought, and they never called anybody to testify for them. They never argued that Mr. Bowers never planned and executed the massacre, which people say is the deadliest antisemitic attack inside U.S. history. 😮🤔
The main goal for the defense, like they talked about before the trial, is to avoid the death sentence. Mr. Bowers’s lawyers tried to get him to plead guilty to all the counts in exchange for a life sentence inside prison with no chance for parole, but the Justice Department turned down those offers. 🚫🔒😕
In this first part of the trial, the defense lawyers brought up questions about Mr. Bowers’s motives and intent, and if the evidence the government showed was enough to prove some of the federal charges. They also mentioned that Mr. Bowers’s state of mind is going to be an important part of their argument during the penalty phase. 🤔💭🔎
“How and why did this man, who was law-abiding and never bothered anybody up until October 27, 2018, decide to cause all this chaos and destruction?” Elisa Long, one federal public defender representing Mr. Bowers, asked in her closing argument. 🧐🔍💥
The verdict on Friday comes after three weeks of testimony. Inside the court, the witnesses told the story about how the worshippers hid inside closets or lay near death inside a hallway while Mr. Bowers stalked the Tree of Life synagogue with three handguns and a semiautomatic rifle. 💔🕍🔫
“We were filled with terror,” said Andrea Wedner, who recounted lying on the floor of a chapel, her right arm shattered by bullets, and trying to comfort her dying 97-year-old mother. “It’s indescribable,” she said. 💔😨💥
The 60 witnesses called by the prosecution included police officers who rushed into the synagogue, some of whom were injured in shootouts with Mr. Bowers; businessmen who sold Mr. Bowers his gun holsters; the chief executive of Gab.com, the social media site where Mr. Bowers had posted prolifically about his hatred of Jews and immigrants; and the president of a Jewish organization that helps resettle refugees — a mission that Mr. Bowers said made him attack the synagogue. 👮♂️💥💼📱🤬
The testimony was often harrowing. Recordings of 911 calls were played, filling the courtroom with the sounds of people being shot to death. Prosecutors showed graphic photographs of the aftermath. Pathologists described autopsies in clinical detail: one bullet wound so severe that they “could see inside the space where the brain sits”; one woman killed by a gunshot that “more or less cut the heart in two.” 💔📞📷🔪🩸
Experts testified about the barrage of antisemitic posts that Mr. Bowers had made on Gab.com, celebrating the Holocaust and calling for the eradication of Jews. 🤬🌍🔥
“The message that the defendant chose to tell the world about himself was clear and unambiguous: He is filled with hatred for Jews,” Mary Hahn, a federal prosecutor, said in her closing argument. 🗣️🗯️🤬
Other witnesses were called upon to describe tenets of the Jewish faith and to explain how the three congregations had changed after the attack. 🛐✡️🕌
“We don’t have the same attendance,” said Stephen Weiss, the longtime ritual director for Tree of Life. It has been more difficult to reach the required minyan, or quorum, of 10 people in order to recite certain prayers. Those members who could always be counted on to show up on time for services, Mr. Weiss said: “They were killed.” 💔🙏😭
During much of this testimony, the defense team sat quietly, asking a few questions of some of the prosecution’s expert witnesses but largely letting the proceedings unfold on the government’s terms. The defense lawyers indicated at several points that their case would come mostly in the subsequent phases of the trial. 🤐🤔⚖️
There has not been agreement among the three congregations or within them about whether Mr. Bowers should be sentenced to death. Many of their members are bracing for a painful few weeks ahead. 😥💔😢
“It’s difficult to say, the emotions we feel right now,” Stephen Cohen, the co-president of the New Light congregation, said on Friday after the proceedings were over. “Relief, obviously,” he told reporters, expressing gratitude to the prosecutors. “But there’s also a degree of trepidation. Because this is just the first third of the trial. And in a sense, it was the least complicated part.” 😌🙏😓
This trial is far from over. As the jury moves forward, the fate of Robert Bowers is going to hang in the balance. The court is going to weigh all the evidence and arguments to decide if the death sentence is going to be imposed. Stay tuned as this high-stakes legal battle continues to unfold. ⚖️🔄🔒
