Is it morally acceptable to sentence a 20-year-old to the death penalty? What if that 20-year-old is the alleged Boston Marathon bomber who killed three people, wounded 260 and mentally scarred a nation?
This act of terrorism is possibly the worst since September 11, and such an act is deserving of death by lethal injection. The actions determine the punishment, not the age of the perpetrator. On Jan. 30 the Justice Department informed a federal judge that it is planning to seek the death penalty for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, also known as the Boston Bomber, if he is convicted by a jury for the crime committed last April, according to NBC News.
Tsarnaev will soon face trial for his alleged crimes of the terrorist attack on Boston on April 15, 2013. He was accompanied by his older brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who was 26 at the time, in the planning and execution of the attacks where two homemade pressure cooker bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, according to investigators.
The eldest brother, however, did not survive a shootout with the police during their attempted escape. While later running from the FBI, the surviving Tsarnaev brother was caught and injured badly in the process.
In the nine months since the bombing while Tsarnaev has been recovering, Attorney General Eric Holder has been deciding whether or not to seek the death penalty.
Last week he came to his conclusion. The statement released of Holder by The United States Department of Justice read, “After consideration of the relevant facts, the applicable regulations and the submissions made by the defendant’s counsel, I have determined that the U.S. will seek the death penalty in this matter. The nature of the conduct at issue and the resultant harm compel this decision.”
Aiten Goelman, a former federal prosecutor who assisted in the prosecutions in the Oklahoma City bombings, said that Holder is personally opposed to the death penalty, but his decision to seek it in this case was the right choice, according to USA Today.
NBC News reported that Holder talked to victims of the bombing and their families when making this decision. This shows that he did not hastily make his choice. As a state in which the death penalty has long been opposed, a Massachusetts jury may have mixed feelings on whether or not to use the death penalty on the Boston bomber.
His murderous actions are certainly worthy of execution in minds such as my own, but putting someone to death is the harshest of punishments and one that cannot be undone.
However, there are photos of Tsarnaev and his brother placing the bombs at the Boston Marathon, among more evidence that will no doubt incriminate him for the bombings. The evidence, combined with heart wrenching testimonies of the bombing’s victims, will hopefully lead a jury to sentence him to be executed.
Historically, death penalty executions by the federal system are rare, and in the last few decades only three people have received the death penalty on federal charges. The last person to be executed by the federal government was the Oklahoma City Bomber, Timothy McVeigh, in 2001. Now Goelman said, “if not in this case, then you have to ask when?”
I agree with Goelman; if Tsarnaev is not deserving of the death penalty, then who is? Especially when, according to NBC News, prosecutors say that Tsarnaev has shown no remorse for his crime.
The Washington Post reported that 16 people had to have their legs amputated after the Boston bombings because of where the bombs were placed.
Although the crimes that Tsarnaev allegedly committed are heinous, even some victims of the bombings are unsure of whether or not the death penalty is the right decision to be made.
USA Today reported that Lee Ann Yanni, a 32-year-old from Boston who was wounded in the attack, commented on the possibility of the death penalty in this case saying, “It’s not going to change what happened. I really don’t think there is a right or wrong in this situation. It’s not going to bring anybody back.”
On the other hand, USA Today reported that Liz Norden, whose two sons were injured in the Boston Marathon bombings, said, “I support it. … It is a step in the right direction.”
Susan Brinkley, a UT professor who teaches about the Death Penalty as well as Ethics in Justice classes said, “Personally, I believe that a life sentence without parole would accomplish the same goal as seeking the death penalty. If convicted he could/would be housed at the facility in Florence, Colorado; the only level 6 federal prison. The 1993 World Trade Center offenders are there as well as others convicted of terrorist acts.”
Last September, just six months after the bombing, the Boston Globe conducted a poll that found 57 percent of respondents wanted life in prison for Tsarnaev and 33 percent thought that he was deserving of the death penalty.
Tsarnaev pleaded not guilty to his 30 criminal counts, according to NY Daily News, which include using weapons of mass destruction to kill and to maim or injure, and killing an MIT police officer during his attempted escape.
“Authorities have said Tamerlan Tsarnaev came under the influence of radical Islam and probably recruited his brother to help him with the bombing, a possible line of defense if the case goes to trial,” reported The Washington Post.
Although Tsarnaev deserves to be executed for his crimes, seeking the death penalty may be a way to get him to plead guilty instead. If he pleads guilty, it would save all the victims and their families the horror of having to get up on the stand to testify against him, forcing them to relive the painful events.
Right now the case will take place with a Massachusetts jury, a state which has long been opposed to the death penalty, reported USA Today.
Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick said in a statement, “One way or another, based on the evidence, Tsarnaev will die in prison,” meaning whether it is by execution or from spending the rest of his living days behind bars. Still, Goelman said, “It will be a challenge for a Boston jury to vote for death.”
The death penalty was created in this country specifically for cases like this, for people like Tsarnaev who make it their life’s mission to hurt innocent civilians. He is a mere 20-year-old, as I am, but I think his actions have earned him the death penalty.
To quote Dexter Morgan, it’s not that some people deserve to die; it’s that “some people don’t deserve to live.”
Avery Twible can be reached at avery.twible@spartans.ut.edu