BOSTON, Mass. — Jurors sentenced Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to death by lethal injection, after he was convicted for his role in the Boston Marathon bombings and the further bloodshed that followed.
The jury deliberated for 14 hours over parts of three days before reaching its decision. They were tasked with deciding whether Tsarnaev should be sentenced to life in prison or death.
The jury’s verdict marked the first time in the post-9/11 era that federal prosecutors have won the death penalty in a terrorism case. Tsarnaev will likely be sent to the federal death row in Terre Haute, Indiana.
The decision was read in a federal court in Boston starting at 3 p.m. Eastern time. There was no visible reaction from Tsarnaev.
CNN Legal Analyst Jeffrey Toobin said a years-long appeal process is expected, but “the overwhelming likelihood is that he will die.”
The sentencing is the final chapter to a brutal, emotionally exhausting trial that brought forth indelible images of an unspeakable crime. Jurors saw the second bomb go off by the Forum restaurant and they viewed videos and photographs of the carnage. They heard the screams and saw people on the street, dying even as bystanders rushed to help. And they heard from people who survived against all odds but continue to struggle with their injuries.
The bombing of the finish line of the Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013, recalled other acts of terror on U.S. soil like the attacks of September 11, 2001. The homemade bombs, built with pressure cookers loaded with gunpowder, BBs and nails, also injured at least 240 people; 17 of them lost limbs.
The videos and photographs of the bloody mayhem that exploded near the finish line shortly before 3 p.m. on April 15, 2013, were difficult to watch and impossible to forget.
In all, the trial consumed 59 court days. More than 150 witnesses testified over 10 weeks and hundreds of exhibits were shared with the jury. The first witnesses took the stand in early March, and Tsarnaev was found guilty of all counts against him in mid-April. The sentencing stage of the trial began on April 21.
Jury selection began during the first week in January, and 108 inches of snow fell in Boston before it was over. All 12 of the original jurors stayed on the panel throughout the trial; no one asked to be excused. Only one day was lost due to a juror’s illness.