The library at Beth Israel Congregation is where investigators believe the arsonist started the fire that destroyed large portions of the building. (Courtesy: Beth Israel Congregation)
- 19-year-old Stephen Spencer Pittman is accused of setting fire to the largest Jewish house of worship in Mississippi.
Court documents show that U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate has once again granted a continuance in the approaching trial of Stephen Spencer Pittman, the 19-year-old who allegedly set fire to the Beth Israel Congregation Synagogue in January.
Pittman’s attorneys sought additional time to review the discovery materials, a request federal prosecutors did not object to before the court.
The trial, which was originally set for April 6, was moved to June 1. Now, the trial is set to get underway August 3.
Pittman is accused of setting fire to the largest Jewish house of worship in Mississippi located in Jackson. Flames tore through Beth Israel, founded in 1860, causing significant damage to the synagogue’s library and the administration building while smoke and soot damage was evident in the main sanctuary. No one was in the building at the time of the arson attack, other than the perpetrator.
As previously reported, two Torah scrolls — handwritten scriptural texts central to Jewish worship — were destroyed. Five others were damaged. A Torah on display at Beth Israel that survived the Holocaust survived unscathed.
State and federal investigators arrested Pittman based on video evidence from the scene of the crime and call from his father to the FBI saying that his son had confessed to setting the building on fire. Pittman suffered severe burns from the alleged act.
A grand jury in Hinds County then indicted Spencer Pittman on a first-degree arson charge with a hate crime enhancement. The state charges in Hinds County are in addition to the federal charges Pittman faces, which include arson, damage to religious property and using fire to commit a felony. With the hate crime enhancement added to the first-degree arson charge, Pittman faces up to 60 years in prison on top of any federal sentencing.
Pittman has pleaded not guilty to the charges and remains in jail as he awaits trial.
