As the jury debated Tsarnaev’s fate, Boston editors were quick to publish their arguments for and against the death penalty.
Spare Dzhokhar Tsarnaev The Death Penalty
The Editorial Board – The Boston Globe
Even supporters of the death penalty should have some qualms about putting Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to death … The argument against imposing the death penalty in this particular instance comes in two flavors: one legal, and one that aims at the philosophical reasoning of death penalty supporters …
Tsarnaev was 19 at the time of the bombing; he was apparently a heavy drug user; he had no prior criminal record. By themselves, none of these would seem like a particularly good reason to spare him, but taken as a whole, and alongside evidence of his brother’s dominant role, they should plant seeds of doubt … His defense has already made a good case that he does not meet the exceptionally high standards for a federal execution.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s Fans Shameless
Howie Carr – The Boston Herald
Can the Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Fan Club please tell the truth for once about why they really oppose the death penalty for their bloodthirsty monster?
It’s because the Joker is a poster boy for so many of their protected classes.
He is a “refugee,” a Muslim, a welfare leech, a drug dealer, an on-the-record Obama supporter, a resident of Cambridge (in a Sect. 8 apartment naturally) and a terrorist — every fact proven at trial beyond a reasonable doubt …They’re using the survivors of this latest Islamist atrocity to put forth the argument that the Joker should get three hots and a cot forever and a day.
To End the Anguish, Drop the Death Penalty
Bill and Denise Richards – The Boston Globe
The past two years have been the most trying of our lives. Our family has grieved,
buried our young son, battled injuries, and endured numerous surgeries — all while
trying to rebuild lives that will never be the same. We sat in the courtroom, day after day …But now that the tireless and committed prosecution team has ensured that justice will be served … we are in favor of and would support the Department of Justice in taking the death penalty off the table in exchange for the defendant spending the rest of his life in prison without any possibility of release and waiving all of his rights to appeal.
We know that the government has its reasons for seeking the death penalty, but the continued pursuit of that punishment could bring years of appeals and prolong reliving the most painful day of our lives.