December 17, 2024 The Honorable Joe Biden President, United States of America
RE: Don’t Commute Sentence for Robert Bowers (US v. Robert Bowers; Criminal No. 18-292, Western District of Pennsylvania; BOP Register #: 39188-068)
Dear Mr. President, The Fienberg family urges you not to pardon or commute the sentence for Robert Bowers, convicted on 63 federal counts and sentenced to death by a jury for hate crimes in the killing of 11 vulnerable and elderly people
worshipping at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pisburgh, PA on October 27, 2018
-- the
worst ansemic terrorist aack in U.S. history
.
The vicms included our mother, Joyce Fienberg.
There are several reasons for our request: 1)
T
he honor of the U.S. jusce system
and the work of the jury; 2)
T
he importance of death row as a means of isolang this parcular
criminal and not allowing him to
spread his ansemic
and racist rhetoric; 3)
Careful use of the pardon power -- unlike some other death row cases, this case is about a white,
racist, ansemic mass murderer specifically violang the lives and constuonal rights of a
religious minority; 4)
This criminal’s complete lack of remorse -- his only regret is that he did not kill more Jews; and 5)
The need to honor the memory of our mother.
1)
Honoring the U.S. jusce system
:
Aer a nearly five
-year delay driven by Bowers’ high-end taxpayer-funded defense team, Bowers received a fair trial.
The U.S. Department of Jusce could have taken the easy way out and seled the case
with a life sentence
, but the Aorney General
sought a capital penalty for such heinous crimes. For three months, a jury of the criminal’s peers
endured horrific tesmony from surviving civilians and
law enforcement, copious
physical evidence, and the especially unforgeable graphic crime scene
photos, autopsy details, blood-
curdling 911 call recordings from survivors and vicms, and hundreds of
the criminal’s
ansemic and racist social media posts.
The jury also heard weeks of aempts by the
defense team to excuse the criminal’s behavior and to claim or imply he was not responsible for his own behavior. In the end, the jury unanimously approved the most severe lawful sentence available.
In the past (and in many other countries), this sort of ansemic crime would have been downplayed or quietly swept under a rug. In this case, the U.S. jusce system confronted the crimes, allowed for the
truth to be heard, provided a fair trial, and delivered a balanced verdict.
2) Death row is
about isolang th
is criminal
: Nothing will bring back our mom, but the importance of the capital sentence is not even
primarily about the execuon of
the sentence, which may never come,
but the isolaon and restricon of th
is criminal for the remainder of his days. As elucidated by the defense team during the trial, even in the highest-security prison, a life sentence (unlike a death sentence) would most likely result in this criminal being quickly stepped down to a lower-
security seng, mostly because of his age and his track record of “good behavior” behind bars. That would grant him significant freedom of acvity, but
more importantly the capacity to communicate his
ansemic and racist messages with
his fellow believers, to haunt the public, to inspire further hate crimes,
and to receive the adulaon he feels he is owed for his acons.
3)
The pardon power
: There were no known errors in this trial, nor any deficiency in the quality of the
defense. No racial animus or disparity was at play in the trial, except that expressed by the criminal himself
. The pardon power should only be ulized on the merits of a case or crime, not en
masse to
further a polical agenda. Nothing in this crime or case merits a pardon or commutaon of sentence.
4)
Remorse and f
orgiveness
: This criminal
carefully planned the aack
early on a Sabbath morning,
intenonally armed himself, stormed the Tree of Life
synagogue, and shot every Jew
he could find, while they worshiped. He hunted them down, seeking to kill them in as “messy” a manner as possible
(his words). When law enforcement responded, he lured them into a trap --
wounding five officers
. Two of
the responding officers were crippled to the extent they can longer serve.
This criminal’s only regret is
that he didn’t kill more Jews. Had law enforcement not responded so swily, more would have been killed at the synagogue, and dozens more Jews at his next target a
few minutes away to which he was
headed when law enforcement officers arrived. During the trial, he expressed pleasure at hearing the
details of his murders and assault. He has never displayed any remorse for his crimes. In Judaism, T’shuvah -- repentance, or a return to righteousness – requires confession, regret, and seeking to right the wrongs
commied
. Absent that, forgiveness is not even possible.
5) In honor of
Joyce Fienberg
:
Our
75-year-old
mom was rered, but she was by no means over the hill.
Her own mother (our Nana) lived to 101, and mom could have easily expected another 25 years with us,
connuing to enjoy her six grandchildren, traveling the globe, and sharing her love and compassion with a vast network of family, friends, and volunteer organizaons,
for whom she was a central turning point and support. With just our immediate family these last six years, she would have danced at three b’nei
mitzvot,
cooked for
a half dozen Passover seders,
and celebrated
dozens of other holy days, holidays, birthdays and assorted celebraons and family gatherings. These last six years, she would have
been talking
and spending me
with friends and family, volunteering in the community, and joining her fellow Jews in prayer
to God every single day and forming the 10 Jews necessary to be present
(known as a minyan) for certain
essenal
prayers.
Conclusion: Do not commute this sentence
: In honor of our mother, Joyce Fienberg of blessed memory, the 11 worshippers murdered (a minyan plus one)
, the mulple people wounded and scarred, the
heroes in local law enforcement who were ready to trade their lives so that
dozens of
others could survive,
the jurors and parcipants in the trial who had to listen and learn the depravies in this
criminal’s plans
and acon
s and the horrors he wrought, and
the U.S. Aorney’s Office, FBI, and other
arms of the American
jusce system that demonstrated grace and resoluon
to bring this lawful case to the correct conclusion, we humbly request that you
NOT
pardon or commute this criminal’s sentence. Sincerely, Anthony Fienberg and Howard Fienberg The sons of Joyce Fienberg
