Boston Marathon Bombing Jury Finds Tsarnaev Guilty on All 30 Counts

By Emma Koonse, Christian Post Reporter Wednesday, April 08, 2015

Jury members in Boston found Dzokhkar Tsarnaev guilty on all 30 counts related to the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombings on Wednesday.

The bombings killed three people and left over 260 others wounded. Tsarnaev, who carried out twin bombings with his brother Tamarlan, was convicted on charges that include carjacking, robbery and using weapons of mass destruction resulting in death.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is pictured in this handout photo presented as evidence by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Boston, Massachusetts, on March 23, 2015. Tsarnaev was heavily influenced by al Qaeda literature and lectures, some of which was found on his laptop, a counterterrorism expert testified at his trial on March 23, 2015.

A still image captured from surveillance video at the Boston Marathon shows the scene moments before a second bomb exploded as a man, marked with a circle by prosecutors (top R) and identified by them as defendant Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, moves rapidly away from the spot near the finish line of the race on April 15, 2013, in this handout video provided by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Boston, Massachusetts on March 9, 2015. Accused bomber Tsarnaev, 21, is accused of killing three people and injuring 264, at the Boston Marathon's crowded finish line on April 15, 2013. This is the first image of a four-picture series.

A blood-stained message that prosecutors say Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev wrote on the inside of a boat is seen with bullet holes in an undated evidence picture shown to jurors in Boston, March 10, 2015. Tsarnaev, 21, is accused of killing three people and injuring 264 with a pair of homemade bombs at the race's crowded finish line on April 15, 2013, as well as fatally shooting a police officer three days later as he and his brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev tried to flee the city.

Jose Briceno of Cambridge holds a sign in front of the Moakley federal courthouse where jury deliberations continue in the trial of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in Boston, Massachusetts, April 8, 2015. The jurors who will determine if Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is guilty of killing three people and injuring 264 in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing asked the judge on Wednesday to clarify two legal terms before they began a second day of deliberations.

A plaid backpack is seen in this undated handout evidence photo provided by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Boston, Massachusetts, on March 25, 2015. FBI Special Agent Kenneth Benton testified that he and fellow agents searched the landfill after a college friend of Tsarnaev's took the plaid backpack from the defendant's dorm room and tossed it into a dumpster.

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Seventeen of the charges can carry the death penalty. However, the sentencing phase will not begin until next week. During the penalty phase, the same jury, consisting of seven women and five men, will weigh the possible death penalty for Tsarnaev.

Denise Richard, the mother of 8-year-old victim Martin, wiped tears from her eyes after the jury left the courtroom, according to the Boston Herald. Her husband, Bill Richard, was seen hugging one of the prosecutors.

Boston marathon bombing victims and survivors (L to R) Dana Cohen, Carlos Arrendono, Karen Brassard, Laurie Scher, Liz Norden, and Mike Ward speak to media after a jury found bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev guilty, in Boston, Massachusetts, April 8, 2015. Tsarnaev was found guilty on Wednesday of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing that killed three people and injured 264 others, and the jury will now decide whether to sentence him to death.

Liz Norden (C) and Mike Ward (R) leave the courthouse after a jury found Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev guilty in Boston, Massachusetts, April 8, 2015. Liz Norden's two sons, JP and Paul Norden, both lost limbs in the bombing. Tsarnaev was found guilty on Wednesday of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing that killed three people and injured 264 others, and the jury will now decide whether to sentence him to death.

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Before the verdict was announced on Wednesday, prosecutors contended that 21-year-old Tsarnaev was cold and calculated in plotting the April 25, 2013, bombings, which occurred while the last wave of Boston Marathon runners crossed the finish line.

"There was nothing about this day that was a twist of fate," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Aloke Chakravarty while speaking to jurors during closing arguments, according to NPR. "This was a cold, calculated terrorist act. This was intentional. It was bloodthirsty. It was to make a point. It was to tell American that 'We will not be terrorized by you anymore. We will terrorize you.'"

Conversely, Tsarnaev's defense attorney argued that while his client participated in the bombings, Tsarnaev was under the strong influence of his older brother. Also, none of the four witnesses called during the 15-day trial suggested that Tsarnaev was innocent.

In an interview with The Christian Post in April 2013, Angelica Vasquez, then a 22-year-old political science student at Boston College who attended the marathon and witnessed the horror of the bombings firsthand because she was seated across the street from the explosion in the VIP section at the finish line, described the explosions.

She initially assumed fireworks were going off, but realized she was wrong when her boyfriend and former Israeli soldier grabbed her and told her to wait as he anticipated another explosion.

"We got to our bleacher seats and we stood in the middle section and all of a sudden we heard a huge bang that felt like an impact or slight jerk. Everyone was confused," she said. "Then, all of a sudden, the second bomb went off and glass from the buildings shattered everywhere and that's when I knew we were under attack."

The bombings resulted in a massive manhunt that shut down the Boston metropolitan area. Tsarnaev was found badly injured hiding in a privately-owned boat in Watertown, Massachusetts. His brother, Tamerlan, died earlier during a shootout with police.