Boston Bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Guilty: Should He Get The Death Penalty? [Video]
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been successfully convicted of the 2013 Boston marathon bombings. The decision came down on all 30 counts on Wednesday after nearly one and a half days of deliberation.
The guilty verdict isn’t surprising to some considering the evidence against Tsarnaev. However, what may be shocking is that he was found guilty on all 30 counts attached to the terrorist bombing, including all 17 counts which make Tsarnaev eligible for the death penalty.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been found guilty on all 30 counts he faced in the #BostonBombing trial http://t.co/dkfTVtwww8 pic.twitter.com/ilNmidZZ3U
— CNN (@CNN) April 8, 2015
According to CNN, as the verdict was read, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev “stood with his head bowed and hands clasped.”
Tsarnaev is the surviving sibling who was held responsible for the horrific Boston bombing nearly two years ago. His older brother Tamerlan was killed days after the incident as the two attempted to flee authorities.
On the day of the bombing, the two brothers planted two pressure cooker bombs near the finish line. The explosion took the lives of three people; eight-year-old Martin Richard, 29-year-old Krystle Campbell, and 23-year-old Lingzi Lu. Nearly 300 people suffered injuries related to the bombings.
It isn’t very surprising that the jury convicted Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Since the night he emerged covered in blood after hiding on a boat in a Boston suburb, the public sentiment and the evidence has leaned strongly in the direction of guilt. It is why his defense attorneys pressed so hard to get the case moved out of the area. It’s very likely that the attorney will appeal with this complaint in mind. However, it’s not definite that the appeal will be successful.
.@Joan_Vennochi: The jurors who ultimately decide Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s fate will begin their task with a shared bias http://t.co/5lBUgzTAUV
— Boston Globe Opinion (@GlobeOpinion) January 8, 2015
Prosecutors pressed hard for a conviction from the very beginning. Prosecutor Aloke Chakravarty told the jurors that the bombing was “a cold, calculated terrorist act.” With all 17 counts coming back with guilty verdicts for charges that carry the weight of the death penalty, it’s now up to that jury to decide if the 21-year-old should be executed. Although the guilty verdict came quickly, this verdict may take considerably more time.
As horrific and traumatizing as the Boston Marathon Bombing was, there is a strong divide among Americans as to whether or not the death penalty is an ethical punishment for crime, even in the case of murder by terrorists. Certain states no longer carry a death penalty. However, this is a Federal case. Although Massachusetts no longer carries a death penalty (it was abolished in 1984), it still might be the site of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s execution in the future. This outcome isn’t only reliant on the sentencing phase of the trial; it’s possible that by the time Tsarnaev is ready to start counting down the final days until his execution, the death penalty in the United States may be abolished.
Though the question of life or death for Tsarnaev will dominate the narrative for some time, victims and loved ones are simply relieved that some measure of justice has been served. Survivor Jeff Bauman said that the verdicts won’t “replace the lives that were lost,” but he considers the outcome to be a “relief” and “one step closer to closure.”
Do you believe that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev should be put to death for his role in the Boston Marathon Bombings or would life in prison be a preferable punishment?
[Image Credit: Handout/Getty Images]
