Eight years after Robert Bowers killed 11 worshippers at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh on October 27, 2018, his death penalty appeal is before a federal appeals court, and the government has agreed that half of his death sentences should be thrown out.
In its answering brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, dated April 15, 2026, the Justice Department said Bowers's death sentences on 11 firearm counts should be vacated after a 2026 Supreme Court ruling on double jeopardy. It argued that his 11 other death sentences, for the hate crime at the heart of the case, should stay in place. The government's brief in United States v. Bowers, No. 24-9002, runs more than 400 pages.
The attack
The building was home to three congregations, Tree of Life, Dor Hadash and New Light, which had gathered for Sabbath worship and study that morning. According to the government's brief, Bowers entered armed with a rifle and three handguns as services were about to begin, and in less than 13 minutes killed 11 congregants and seriously wounded two more. He also wounded four police officers. Asked why, the brief says, Bowers told officers, "I just want to kill Jews."
How the case got here
A federal jury convicted Bowers of 63 civil rights and firearm offenses, 22 of them capital, and recommended death on each capital count. The record in the brief sets out the steps.
August 3, 2023: Final judgment entered, with death sentences on the capital counts.
October 23, 2023: Amended judgment.
May 17, 2024: The trial court denies Bowers's motion for a new trial or acquittal.
May 31, 2024: Bowers files his notice of appeal.
December 2025: His lawyers file an opening brief of nearly 500 pages raising 16 issues and seeking a new sentencing hearing, CBS Pittsburgh reported.
April 15, 2026: The government files its answer.
The newsroom found no reported ruling from the Third Circuit as of Tuesday.
What the filing actually says
The government's first argument is a concession. In light of Barrett v. United States, decided by the Supreme Court this year, it agrees that "imposing cumulative punishments for a Section 924(j) offense and for the predicate crime of religious obstruction resulting in death," based on the same conduct, "violates double jeopardy." Section 924(j) punishes killing someone with a firearm during a crime of violence. The predicate crime here is violent obstruction of religious exercise under the Church Arson Prevention Act.
The remedy it proposes is narrow. The court should vacate the death sentences on Counts 23 to 33 and send them back for dismissal, "while leaving intact the death sentences on the remaining capital counts (Counts 1-11)." It argues that no new sentencing is needed because the jury was told to consider each count separately and the two sets of counts rested on the same evidence.
The newsroom's arithmetic: 22 capital counts minus the 11 the government concedes leaves 11 death sentences. If the court accepts the government's position, Bowers would remain under a death sentence.
The rest of the brief defends the convictions against Bowers's constitutional attacks. It argues that the Church Arson Prevention Act is valid Commerce Clause legislation as applied to him, citing his use of weapons that had crossed state lines and of the internet to choose his victims. It argues that the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act validly covers violence against Jewish people, who were considered a distinct "race" when the Thirteenth Amendment was adopted.
The jury questions
Some of the defense's main claims concern jury selection, CBS Pittsburgh reported. The defense challenges the seating of a juror who said they had reviewed death sentences and overseen executions in China, and the removal of two prospective jurors who had reservations about the death penalty. It also argues that marshals shackled Bowers's legs during the eligibility phase of the trial.
The government answers that the juror, identified as Juror 119, had a "brief experience 40 years ago reviewing death sentences in China" that did not create a legal presumption of bias. It says the two excluded jurors "strongly opposed the death penalty" in ways that would have substantially impaired their service.
Bruce Antkowiak, a law professor at St. Vincent College, told CBS Pittsburgh, "Most criminal appeals do not result in a successful outcome for a defendant," and said, "It is going to take another period of years before this is all resolved." The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh said, "We have full confidence in the prosecution team and the judicial system as this process moves forward." Bowers remains on federal death row in Indiana.
Another federal capital case built on a racially motivated mass shooting is the Buffalo Tops gunman's trial. For how antisemitic violence has changed since 2018, read our interview on how antisemitism mutates.
Two Taps News stories summarize reporting and the analysis discussed on Two Taps and Friends. They are not legal advice. Read our standards.
