Jury to decide if Boston bomber lives or dies

By: 10 years ago

In this courtroom sketch, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, second from left, is depicted standing with his defense attorneys William Fick, left, Judy Clarke, second from right, and David Bruck, right, as the jury presents its verdict in his federal death penalty trial Wednesday, April 8, 2015, in Boston. Tsarnaev was convicted on multiple charges in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. AP

BOSTON—Now that a jury has convicted Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on all charges, even more is at stake in the next phase: The same 12 people must decide whether the 21-year-old lives or dies.

Tsarnaev was found guilty of 30 counts against him, including deadly use of a weapon of mass destruction. Seventeen of those charges are punishable by death.

The jury must agree unanimously for Tsarnaev to receive a death sentence; otherwise the penalty will be life behind bars.

The defense lawyers will make a case that Tsarnaev’s life should be spared.

The defense gave a preview of its case when it insisted that Tsarnaev was strongly influenced by his radicalized older brother Tamerlan, who was said to have masterminded the attack.

Tsarnaev’s lawyers are expected to explore the brothers’ relationship more deeply and perhaps bring in evidence about Tsarnaev’s life in Russia and the former Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan, where the family lived before moving to the United States.

Legal analysts said they don’t expect the defense case to contain any new revelations about Tsarnaev.

Brother’s influence

“The crime is so horrific that they don’t have much else really to point to, other than his age and the influence of his older brother,” said Dan Collins, a former federal prosecutor.

Survivors described losing legs in the blasts or watching people die.

The parents of 8-year-old Martin Richard, who was killed in the attacks, crammed into the gallery to hear the verdict.

Aggravating factors

Richard’s father described making the agonizing decision to leave his mortally wounded son so he could get help for his 6-year-old daughter, whose leg had been blown off.

This undated file photo released Friday, April 19, 2013, by the FBI shows Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, convicted Wednesday, April 8, 2015, in federal court in Boston on multiple charges in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings. Three people were killed and more than 260 were injured when twin pressure-cooker bombs exploded near the finish line. AP

During the penalty phase, which could begin on Monday, prosecutors will provide evidence of aggravating factors, including the targeting of the marathon for maximum bloodshed.

Prosecutors portrayed Tsarnaev and his brother—ethnic Chechens—as full partners in a plan to punish the US for its wars in Muslim countries.

Survivors welcomed the verdict and thanked the jury after a harrowing monthlong trial of grisly videos of the horror after the attacks.

“We are thankful Dzhokhar Tsarnaev will be held accountable for the evil that he brought to so many families,” said the family of Sean Collier, a police officer whom the defendant murdered on the run.

Bishops oppose death

Catholic bishops in the state reiterated their opposition to the death penalty.

Prosecutors presented Tsarnaev as a cold, calculating killer who learned with his brother how to build pressure-cooker bombs through al-Qaida magazine “Inspire.”

“He wanted to terrorize this country. He wanted to punish America for what it was doing to his people,” assistant US lawyer Aloke Chakravarty had told the court.

“That day they felt they were soldiers, that they were mujahideen and they were bringing their battle to Boston,” added Chakravarty.

The court heard Tsarnaev was a marijuana-smoking, seemingly laid-back student who had failed a number of exams and become an avid reader of Islamist literature.

Defense lawyer Judy Clarke, who has saved some of America’s most notorious convicts from the death penalty, said Tsarnaev deserved to be condemned but the attacks would never have happened without his brother. Reports from AP and AFP