Expert explains what a death penalty case could look like against Pittsburgh shooting suspect
Robert Bowers, the man believed to have shot and killed 11 people inside a Pittsburgh synagogue could face the death penalty if he’s convicted.
Bowers was in federal court Monday, and groundwork is being laid for federal prosecutors to seek capital punishment.
“Rest assured, we have a team of prosecutors working hard to ensure that justice is done,” US Attorney Scott Brady said.
CU Boulder Sociology professor Michael Radelet is an expert on the death penalty, he’s not surprised prosecutors are taking the capital punishment route but says things could change.
“Once the lawyers get involved, once they do a life history of this guy they might find major mental illness, that would not be surprising. They might find other things and prosecutors can always change their mind, but they start out looking for the maximum penalty,” Radelet said.
Radelet adds sometimes, the threat of the death penalty can be used as pressure for a guilty plea.
“These things are really, really, really expensive, that’s why it’s in the state’s interest to induce a plea. He could plead guilty, be sent to prison, throw away the keys, and we’d never hear of him again,” Radelet said.
He offers James Holmes, the convicted Aurora theater shooter, as an example.
While it was a state case, it still took roughly three years, and millions of dollars to try the case. After all that, Holmes is now serving consecutive life sentences.
In the case of the synagogue massacre, it can also be a question of who it affects.
“Especially a possibility in this case where it affects Jewish congregations throughout the country and those Jewish congregations tend to be firmly against the death penalty,” Radelet said.
Should 46-year-old Bowers be convicted and sentenced to death, Radelet estimates Bowers would be well into his 70s by the time he’s executed. That’s because of how long it takes to prosecute these cases and the average amount of time inmates sit on death row.
