Jury selection begins in trial for 2018 synagogue attack

Jury selection in the trial of the man who killed 11 Jewish worshipers in 2018 in Pittsburgh started Monday. It was the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history. The suspect faces 63 counts related to the shooting, including charges of obstruction of free exercise of religion resulting in death and hate crimes resulting in death. If convicted, he could receive the death penalty. Prospective jurors said Monday that if they were to convict the suspect, they would be capable of sentencing him to die.

What’s likely to happen at the trial? Prosecutors will likely present evidence that the alleged shooter has a history of religious hatred—at past hearings, they’ve argued that the defendant’s statements at the shooting scene should be allowed at the trial. The alleged shooter’s lawyers say their client is schizophrenic with structural and functional brain impairments. The suspect tried to submit a guilty plea in exchange for a life sentence, but federal prosecutors turned him down. 

Dig deeper: Read Mary Jackson’s report in WORLD Magazine on an opening for the gospel as antisemitism grows.