Lawyers argue Pittsburgh synagogue shooter ineligible for death penalty due to mental illness.
Attorneys for Robert G. Bowers, who was convicted of killing 11 people and injuring seven at the Tree of Life synagogue in 2018, argued in federal court that their client has brain impairments, including schizophrenia and epilepsy, that make him ineligible for the death penalty. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in the sentencing phase of the trial, but Bowers's defense team claims that his mental conditions caused him to form a delusional belief system that led directly to the shooting. If the jury does not unanimously agree to the death penalty, Bowers will be sentenced to life in prison without parole.