Testimony to begin in Tree of Life synagogue shooting trial in Pittsburgh

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

43% : The opening statements from the prosecutors and Bowers's defense team are expected after four weeks in which the attorneys questioned more than 200 potential jurists over their views on the death penalty, paring down the pool to a 12-member jury and six alternates.
42% : U.S. Courthouse, allowed federal authorities to conduct their own psychiatric examination of Bowers last week, the results of which could be used by the government to rebut potential defense team arguments over capital punishment.
41% : If the jury does not unanimously vote in favor of capital punishment, Bowers would receive a mandatory sentence of life in prison, officials said.
39% : Robert G. Bowers, 50, of Baldwin, Pa., is facing 63 hate-crime and gun-related charges in the mass killing during a morning prayer service on Oct. 27, 2018, which would make him eligible for the death penalty if he is convicted.
39% : If Bowers is convicted, officials said, the trial will enter the punishment phase, during which the government will seek the death penalty, a process that could take up to six weeks.
35% : Two of the Tree of Life congregations -- New Light and Dor Hadash -- asked Garland to abandon seeking the death penalty over moral objections and concerns that a lengthy trial would reopen emotional wounds.
33% : The Justice Department announced that it would pursue the death penalty in 2019, when William P. Barr was U.S. attorney general during the Trump administration.

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