Prosecution rests in Boston bomber trial
Prosecutors rested their case against Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on Monday after jurors in his federal death penalty trial saw gruesome autopsy photos and heard a medical examiner describe the devastating injuries suffered by the three people who died in the 2013 terror attack.
Tsarnaev’s lawyer told the jury during opening statements that Tsarnaev participated in the twin bombings but that his older brother, Tamerlan, was the driving force behind the attack. Prosecutors believe the brothers were seeking retaliation against the U. S. for wars in Muslim countries.
Now that prosecutors have finished their case, Tsarnaev’s lawyers are presenting theirs. The defence has made it clear since testimony began March 4 that its strategy during the two- phase trial is not to win an acquittal for Tsarnaev but to save him from the death penalty.
Three people were killed and more than 260 were injured when two pressure- cooker bombs exploded near the finish line in 2013.
Prosecutors presented heartwrenching testimony from survivors who lost legs in the bombings and from the father of eight- yearold Martin Richard, the youngest person killed in the explosions.
Tsarnaev’s lawyers did not crossexamine any of the victims but instead focused on trying to show that Tamerlan Tsarnaev was more culpable in the attack and in the killing three days later of Massa- chusetts Institute of Technology police Officer Sean Collier.
The defence case is expected to be relatively short. Once that is complete, jurors will deliberate on whether Tsarnaev is guilty of the 30 federal charges against him in the bombing, in Collier’s killing and for his role in a violent confrontation with police in Watertown.
If the jury convicts Tsarnaev, the trial will move on to the second phase, when the same jury will hear more evidence to decide whether Tsarnaev should be put to death or should spend the rest of his life in prison.