Jurors in Pittsburgh have begun considering whether the gunman in a white supremacist 2018 shooting at a local synagogue complex should get the death penalty. In June, Robert Bowers, who killed 11 people at the Tree of Life synagogue, was convicted on 63 federal counts. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, experts called by his attorneys have been arguing in court in recent days that he was so mentally damaged by the time of the shooting he shouldn’t face the death penalty, which is forbidden against people with certain intellectual handicaps. They pointed out how Bowers had been in multiple psychiatric hospitals by the time he was 13 years old, diagnosed with depression and other ailments. As a teenager, he also attempted to kill his mother by spraying an aerosol toward her and trying to light it on fire. By 16, he was voluntarily committed again to a mental facility and had made “repeated suicide attempts,” according to the defence. Richard Rogers, a forensic psychologist who met with Bowers four times while he was in prison, told jurors the gunman showed signs of delusional thinking tied to his white supremacist ideas. “He did not just believe [his conduct] to be correct,” Mr Rogers said, “he believed it absolutely had to be done.” A majority of families whose loved ones died in the shooting have voiced their support for the death penalty in the case. “We are not a ruthless, uncompassionate people; we, as a persecuted people, understand when there is a time for compassion and when there is a time to stand up and say enough is enough — such violent hatred will not be tolerated on this earth,” they wrote in a 2022 letter in the Pittsburg Jewish Chronicle. “Our beloved 11 were taken from us in a brutal, cold-blooded act of hatred and violence. We, the undersigned, will feel further violated by letting the defendant have the easy way out. His crimes deserve the death penalty.” Others tied to the tragedy, the deadliest antisemitic shooting in US history, argued the death penalty violates Jewish tradition. “Jewish practice as I understand it does not — outside of self-defense — allow humans to take the lives of other humans. Not even the life of a murderer whose guilt is beyond doubt,” Beth Kissileff, whose husband, a rabbi, was in the Tree of Life facility during the shooting, wrote in The New York Times. “The death penalty does nothing to promote healing; it only continues more killing,” she added. The Independent and the nonprofit Responsible Business Initiative for Justice (RBIJ) have launched a joint campaign calling for an end to the death penalty in the US. The RBIJ has attracted more than 150 well-known signatories to their Business Leaders Declaration Against the Death Penalty - with The Independent as the latest on the list. We join high-profile executives like Ariana Huffington, Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg, and Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson as part of this initiative and are making a pledge to highlight the injustices of the death penalty in our coverage. Read More A copycat Zodiac Killer terrorised New York years after the California original. This is how he got caught Pittsburgh synagogue killer has extensive history of mental illness, defense expert testifies Doctors give mixed testimony on whether tests show brain damage in the Pittsburgh synagogue killer

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Social media users were shocked to find out that people in Iceland are throwing baby puffins off cliffs – and they have been doing it for decades. Residents of several Icelandic towns traditionally go out looking for baby Atlantic puffins, or pufflings, through late August and September, explained TikTok user Jenn, whose handle is @thatgoodnewsgirl. It isn’t as bad as it sounds though. The practice has become vital to the survival of the species, according to experts, as pufflings have increasingly become confused by the bright lights of towns like Vestmannaeyjabaer in the Westman Islands. Where they would naturally find their way from their hatch site to the sea using the light of the moon, they now often wander into brightly lit towns which are much more dangerous than their natural habitat. As a result, residents now have a yearly tradition of going out to find the pufflings at night, keeping them safe overnight in cardboard boxes before chucking them off the cliffs the next morning. Crucially, the pufflings can already fly, and flap out towards the sea to rejoin their colonies. One commenter said: “I was concerned at first, glad there was a happy explanation.” Another added: “I was about to get super upset and it turned into the most wholesome story.” @thatgoodnewsgirl People are tossing baby puffins off cliffs and shorelines in Iceland - and it’s for their own good! These people are on Puffling Patrol and they’re saving the baby puffins one by one ❤️ I first learned about the Puffling Patrol because many of you tagged me in a video by @Kyana Sue Powers • Iceland, and then I went down a rabbit hole learning more about it! She posts about all things Iceland if you’re interested in more. ?? ? CBC News / Nat Geo TV / @Oda W. Andreasen (TikTok) / CBS / jj.trailwalker (Instagram) / NPR / Sebastien Despres (YouTube) About 700,000 puffin chucks were born in the Westman Islands in 2021, which marks a return to regular numbers after 20 years of declining populations. Rodrigo Martínez Catalán, a research assistant with the South Iceland Nature Research Center, told NPR the tradition has helped maintain populations of the birds, which mate for life and lay just one egg per season. Puffins can live for up to 25 years. “It’s a great feeling because you just rescued this little guy. And when you bring him to the cliff—it’s the first time in his life he’s seeing the ocean," Kyana Sue Powers told NPR. “I’m always, like, ‘Bye, buddy—have a great life; I can’t wait to see you again!” The people catching pufflings are also encouraged to log the weight of each bird on a website that helps researchers to monitor the health of the local puffin population. TikToker Jen said: “The puffling patrol tradition isn’t just great for the puffins. It also brings the community of the Westman Islands together every year, uniting people over a good cause.” Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.