Robert Bowers, the gunman who killed 11 worshippers and wounded six others at a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018 in the deadliest-ever attack on Jewish people in the United States, was unanimously sentenced to death by a federal jury on Wednesday.
Robert Bowers, the gunman who killed 11 worshippers and wounded six others at a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018 in the deadliest-ever attack on Jewish people in the United States, was unanimously sentenced to death by a federal jury on Wednesday.
I’ll always maintain that forcing someone to live with their decisions (not mistakes – decisions… there’s a difference) is way more punishment than giving them release from them.
This may hold some merit in situations where the perpetrator does, in fact, feel remorse, guilt, and negativity toward their actions.
In cases like this, I believe this person would live out their days feeling justified in what they did, and use their incarceration as proof of the very conspiracy theories that fueled their actions.
Bigger picture, capital punishment is one of those topics where I’m undecided overall and feel that there’s a lot of valid takes, on both sides of the issue. I also feel there’s a lot of bad takes too, of course, but that’s common on any issue.
That all being said, in this specific instance, I feel that, personally, it’s a situation that has me reevaluating the bigger picture and looking at the role of government, the legal system, and punishment…capital and otherwise…as expressions of our society’s pursuit of justice.
In this light, and in this specific situation, I’m not sure the traditional pros and cons arguments about the death penalty apply, at least in my mind. Rather, this is an open and closed case with no doubts on who was responsible, what their thought process was, etc. It’s not like DNA evidence will suddenly clear this person’s name of all wrongdoing in twenty years.
At this point, for me, carrying out a death sentence (or not carrying out a death sentence) isn’t about what’s right or fair or measured or appropriate as it concerns the relationship between the justice system and the perpetrator. Rather (again, in my subjective view), it’s simply about the justice system doing what is within its power for the victims, survivors, and their loved ones/community.
In my mind, there’s no question that this person deserves to die, and if that’s what a jury of this person’s peers, in their community, has decided is appropriate…and the justice system has the legal capability of carrying it out, then in this specific case, I fully support that course of action.