Boston Marathon Bomber Found Guilty
April 8, 2015 4:46 PM   Subscribe

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Is Guilty on All 30 Counts in Boston Marathon Bombing Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was convicted today of carrying out the April 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, which devastated a crowd near the finish line of the world-renowned race, killing three people and wounding more than 260 others.

Prosecutors argued that Tsarnaev committed the crimes in a “heinous, cruel and depraved manner” and that he deserved the death penalty. A jury rendered a sweeping verdict for the prosecution, convicting Tsarnaev of all 30 crimes he was charged with, including 17 that carried the possibility of a death sentence.

Jurors heard 95 witnesses over 16 days, who told the story of the bombing and the carnage it had wrought near the finish line and the massive manhunt that followed. Jurors also heard about the case’s wild denouement.

The jury of seven women and five men had deliberated for just over 11 hours after hearing closing arguments from the defense and prosecution on Monday.

The blasts killed restaurant manager Krystle Campbell, 29, Chinese exchange student Lingzi Lu, 23, and Martin Richard, 8. Tsarnaev also was found guilty of the fatal shooting of Massachusetts of Institute of Technology police officer Sean Collier, 26.

Victims and family members of those killed spoke out about the verdict.

"Today's verdict will never replace the lives that were lost and so dramatically changed, but it is a relief, and one step closer to closure," Jeff Bauman, who lost both legs following the bombing, said in a statement on his Facebook page.

The family of Martin Richard, the 8-year-old boy killed in the attack whose autopsy was used during the trial, released a statement giving their thanks to the government.

"The Richard Family would like to thank law enforcement and the Department of Justice for their efforts in this matter," the statement reads. "The Richard Family has no comment on the verdict. We appreciate your continued respect of the family’s privacy – especially their young children – during this time."

MIT police officer Sean Collier was killed as authorities pursued the Tsarnaev brothers following the attacks. On Wednesday afternoon, his family expressed relief about the guilty verdict – and displayed the #BostonStrong spirit.

"While today's verdict can never bring Sean back, we are thankful that Tsarnaev will be held accountable for the evil that he brought to so many families," they told Boston.com in a statement.

The jury will decide whether to sentence him to death or life in prison without possibility of parole. That phase begins next week.
posted by kinetic (3 comments total)

This post was deleted for the following reason: This is newsfilter, and we'll probably want to discuss it further in a week anyway, so let's hold off. -- restless_nomad



 
I'm against the death penalty, but this is totally headed that way given the speed of the deliberations.
posted by Renoroc at 4:54 PM on April 8, 2015


I wonder whether he'll testify at the penalty phase. I'm very curious to hear his thoughts/motivations.
posted by orrnyereg at 4:57 PM on April 8, 2015


I hope he gets life as well. Living will be punishment enough.
posted by Benway at 4:59 PM on April 8, 2015


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