Jury Hands Boston Marathon Bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Death Penalty

By Eyder Peralta / NPR

Published May 15, 2015 at 9:08 AM PDT

This story was published more than 8 years ago.

Updated at 3:42 p.m.

After listening to testimony from 63 witnesses and deliberating since Wednesday, a jury of seven women and five men in Boston handed convicted Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev the death penalty.

There was no visible reaction from either Tsarnaev or his legal team.

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The jury sentenced Tsarnaev to die on counts 4, 5, 9, 10, 14 and 15. Here is more detail about those counts:

Count 4: Use of a weapon of mass destruction (pressure cooker bomb #2) on or about April 15, 2013, in the vicinity of 755 Boylston Street in Boston, Massachusetts, and aiding and abetting, resulting in the deaths of Lingzi Lu and Martin Richard.

Count 5: Possession or use of a firearm (pressure cooker bomb #2) during an in relation to a crime of violence, namely, use of a weapon of mass destruction as in Count Four ..., and in aiding and abetting, resulting in the deaths of Lingzi Lu and Martin Richard.

Count 9: Bombing of a place of public use (pressure cooker bomb #2) on or about April 15, 2013, in the 755 Boylston Street in Boston, Massachusetts, and aiding and abetting, resulting in the deaths of Lingzi Lu and Martin Richard.

Count 10: Possession or use of a firearm (pressure cooker bomb #2) during and in relation to a crime of violence, namely, the bombing of a place of public use as in Count 9 ... and and aiding and abetting, resulting in the deaths of Lingzi Lu and Martin Richard.

Count 14: Malicious destruction of property by means of an explosive (pressure cooker bomb #2) on or about April 15, 2013, in the vicinity of 755 Boylston Street in Boston, Massachusetts, and aiding and abetting, resulting in the deaths of Lingzi Lu and Martin Richard.

Count 15: Possession or use of a firearm (pressure cooker bomb #2) during and in relation to a crime of violence, namely, malicious destruction of property as in Count 14 ... and aiding and abetting, resulting in the deaths of Lingzi Lu and Martin Richard.

Seventeen of the 30 charges against him carried the possibility of the death penalty. The jurors only had to vote for death on one charge.

In April, that same jury convicted Tsarnaev on all 30 counts brought against him. The 21-year-old was found guilty in the deaths of Krystle Campbell, Lingzi Lu and 8-year-old Martin Richard during the bombings, as well as for the death of MIT police officer Sean Collier during a shootout that ensued after the bombings.

During the sentencing phase, the jury heard from victims of the bombing. The prosecution portrayed Tsarnaev as a heartless terrorist.

"Killing the innocent was the whole point," Steve Mellin said about the bombing. "It's the way you terrorize an entire population."

The defense brought up friends and families who described Tsarnaev as a caring kid. They also brought up a prominent anti-death penalty nun, who said Tsarnaev was "genuinely sorry for what he did."

In a statement, Attorney General Loretta Lynch said "the ultimate penalty is a fitting punishment for this horrific crime."

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