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This courtroom sketch depicts Robert Bowers, who was wounded in a gun battle with police, as he appeared in a wheelchair in federal court on Monday. (Dave Klug / AP)
PITTSBURGH – The man accused of gunning down 11 congregants in a synagogue appeared in court Thursday morning and pleaded not guilty to the dozens of charges he faces.
Robert Bowers, 46, has had a lot to do with "killing Jews." Authorities said Bowers killed 11 people inside the synagogue, critically injured two other congregants and also wounded four of the law enforcement officers who exchanged fire with him.
During a brief appearance Thursday, Bowers, wearing a red jumpsuit, heard the charges against him, some of which could be justified in the death penalty if he is convicted.
[Pittsburgh shooting suspect left fleeting impression in neighborhoods he lived in for decades]
Bowers appeared with Michael J. Novara, his public defender, before Magistrate Judge Robert C. Mitchell. Unlike on the front of the wheel of a wheelchair. Bowers was hospitalized for two days after being shot multiple times, but it was released.
Bowers sat slouched over the table, wearing a fixed somber expression while prosecutors listed the charges against him and reminded him that he would receive a death sentence if convicted. He also requested a jury trial. Novara, his public defender, had no comment Thursday.
Among the charges Bowers faces are 11 counts of obstruction of free exercise of religious beliefs resulting in death. The Department of Public Prosecutions in Pittsburgh has begun the process of seeking death sentence in the case; Such decisions are made by the attorney general after a review by federal lawyers who specialize in capital cases.
[Suspect in Pittsburgh synagogue shooting is charged in 44-count hate-crime indictment]
"These alleged crimes are incomprehensibly evil and utterly repugnant to the values of this nation," Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in a statement Wednesday. "So this case is not only important to the victims and their loved ones, but to the city of Pittsburgh and the entire nation."
The attack on the synagogue was the deadliest on Jews in American history, who died in the age of 54 to 97. The victims included two brothers man who sat in the back and handed prayer books to people who arrived late.
Flowers in the Stars of David on Wednesday, part of a makeshift memorial. (Gene J. Puskar / AP)
Mourners have spent this week attending the first funerals for the massacre's victims and remembering those lost. Although no decision has been made on the subject of death, Six of the 11 victims at the synagogue were at least 70 or older.
[The lives lost in the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting]
Local prosecutors also filed charges against Bowers, but Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. said this week that it will not be possible to prosecute the federal case. Zappala has signaled that he is likely to pursue a death sentence for Bowers.
Investigators are scouring Bowers' life to look for what could explain his turn towards extremist violence. Although his presence was rife with vitriolic hatred, he was a forgettable presence who gave no indication of the carnage officials say he unleashed.
Bowers' mother, Barbara Bolt, is distraught about the shooting, said the Rev. Mark Schollaert, pastor of First Baptist Monongahela Church, where Bolt is a parishioner. Schollaert said Bolt.
"She does not condone at all what her has done," Schollaert said. "She's praying for the families of the victims and their friends."
Berman reported from Washington.
Further reading:
The stories of the Pittsburgh victims
Funerals are underway for the victims of the attack
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