To no one’s surprise, the judge overseeing the capital trial of the man accused of massacring Jews at the Tree of Life synagogue building has rejected another attempt by the defense to get the death penalty tossed. U.S. District Judge Robert Colville on Tuesday denied a motion by the defendant’s lawyers to halt the prosecution from seeking death based in part on their theory that the decision to seek capital punishment is “arbitrary.”

Photo Credit: Jim Busis/Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle