A6 TUESDAY, AUGUST 27, 2019 WSCE LATIMES.COM

THE NATION

A man charged with
killing 11 people in a Pitts-
burgh synagogue should
face the death penalty if
convicted, federal prose-
cutors said in a court filing
Monday.
The U.S. attorney’s office
in Pittsburgh filed a notice
of intent to seek the death
penalty against 46-year-old
Robert Bowers in last year’s
attack.
The government filing
said justification for a death
sentence included allega-
tions of substantial planning
and premeditation, the vul-
nerability and number of vic-
tims, and a motivation of re-
ligious hostility.
It also listed the injury,
harm and loss caused to the
victims and the choice of the
Tree of Life synagogue as the
site of the attack.
The notice accused Bow-
ers of targeting the worship-
ers “in order to maximize the
devastation, amplify the
harm of his crimes, and in-
still fear within the local, na-
tional and international
Jewish communities.”
Bowers has pleaded not
guilty and awaits trial. His
lawyers did not return mes-

sages seeking comment.

A spokeswoman for U.S.

Atty. Scott Brady declined to

discuss the filing.

Prosecutors wrote that

the death penalty would be

justified if Bowers is con-

victed of obstruction of free

exercise of religious beliefs

resulting in death or of using

a gun to commit a crime of

violence.

Bowers is accused of us-

ing an AR-15 rifle and other

weapons to target worship-

ers in the Tree of Life syna-

gogue during Saturday

morning services in October.

Seven people were also

wounded, including five po-

lice officers.

Police have said he ex-

pressed hatred of Jews dur-

ing and after what was the

deadliest attack on Jews in

U.S. history.

Shortly after the shoot-

ings, before Bowers was

publicly identified as the

suspect, President Trump

said the perpetrator should

“suffer the ultimate price.”

“I think they should very

much bring the death penal-

ty into vogue,” Trump told

reporters in October. “Any-

body that does a thing like

this to innocent people that

are in temple or in church.

We had so many incidents

with churches. They should

really suffer the ultimate

price.”

Two weeks ago, prose-

cutors and defense attor-

neys agreed to a 120-day ex-

tension in the case.

Prosecutors

to seek death

in shooting

at synagogue

Robert Bowers is

charged with killing

11 people at the Tree

of Life in Pittsburgh.

associated press

cealed or otherwise, is pro-

hibited.”

Woodruff didn’t immedi-

ately answer questions

about why the change was

made now and how it would

be communicated to mem-

bers.

The handbook where the

language was changed isn’t

commonly read by church

members, so how this is dis-

seminated will affect how

much impact it has at the

congregational level, said

Matthew Bowman, an asso-

ciate professor of history

and religion and Howard W.

Hunter chair in Mormon

studies at Claremont Grad-

uate University.

The move is probably

driven by rising awareness of

gun violence in the U.S.

Bowman said it also

seemed to fit with the

church’s attempt to adapt to

being a more global religion,

representative of cultures

SALT LAKE CITY —

Most members of the

Church of Jesus Christ of

Latter-day Saints already

knew they were discouraged

from taking their guns to

church on Sunday, but the

church is making sure that

message is crystal clear by

tweaking the policy to pro-

hibit all lethal weapons.

The previous policy

called it inappropriate to

have weapons on church

property. It still includes an

exception for law enforce-

ment officers.

The clarification comes

one year after a fatal shoot-

ing inside one of its churches

in rural Nevada and as reli-

gions around the country

grapple with how to deal

with gun violence that has

spread to places of worship.

The change went into ef-

fect the first week of August

and a letter explaining it was

first sent to local leaders in

Texas and shared with

members there, said church

spokesman Daniel Wood-

ruff.

The impetus was a new

Texas law that takes effect

soon that makes it clearer in

state law that licensed hand-

gun holders can carry weap-

ons in churches, synagogues

and other houses of worship.

The same letter will be

sent elsewhere to local lead-

ers, who will be responsible

for sharing it with their con-

gregations, Woodruff said.

“Churches are dedicated

for the worship of God and

as havens from the cares and

concerns of the world,” the

revised policy says. “With

the exception of current law

enforcement officers, the

carrying of lethal weapons

on church property, con-

other than the American

West that is steeped in hunt-

ing and guns.

“It is illustrative of the

church’s slow evolution away

from being a largely Western

rural church, which it has

been for a long, long time,

toward a more cosmopoli-

tan, international organiza-

tion,” Bowman said.

Today, more than half of

the religion’s 16 million

members live outside the

United States. Church Presi-

dent Russell M. Nelson is

currently on another global

ministry trip, this time to

Latin America.

Scott Gordon, president

of FairMormon, a volunteer

organization that supports

the church, said it was pretty

rare for people to bring

weapons to church, but that

the faith seemed to want to

eliminate any ambiguity

about the rule.

“In any organization, you

have people who might de-

sire to protect or take the law

into their own hands, and I

think the church in this pol-

icy is saying, ‘Please don’t.

Church is a place of peace,’ ”

Gordon said.

Recent shootings in

places of worship include a

gunman who killed 11 people

during services in October

at the Tree of Life synagogue

in Pittsburgh.

More than two dozen

people were killed by a gun-

man in 2017 at the First Bap-

tist Church in Sutherland

Springs, Texas.

In Charleston, S.C., eight

black parishioners and their

pastor were killed in a racist

shooting in 2015.

The fatal shooting in the

Mormon church occurred in

July 2018 in Fallon, Nev.,

when a man opened fire dur-

ing Sunday services, killing

one man and wounding the

victim’s brother.

Mormon leaders ban guns in church

New policy shifts from

discouragement to

one of prohibition

of all lethal weapons.

associated press

THE SALT LAKE TEMPLEin Utah. One expert said the new gun policy seemed

to fit with the Mormon Church’s attempt to adapt to being a more global religion.

Isaac HaleFor The Times

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