The jury had to decide on a series of questions – including whether Tsarnaev intentionally targeted the marathon and acted in a “depraved manner” – before deciding to sentence him to death. One of those cut right to the heart of his defense.
The 12 jurors who sentenced Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to death Friday rejected the argument at the heart of his defense: that the 19-year-old acted under the influence of his older brother, Tamerlan.
Jane Flavell Collins / AP
Only three jurors supported that claim, though. And only three jurors hold Tamerlan responsible for planning and orchestrating the attack. Five jurors said Tamerlan radicalized first, and encouraged Dzhokhar to follow him.
Throughout the trial and especially in the sentencing phase, defense attorneys spent significant time saying Tamerlan had a great hold over his brother. Tamerlan was charismatic, the lawyers argued, emphasizing the tendency within Chechen culture for younger siblings to idolize older ones.
This question and scores of others were part of a questionnaire the jurors filled out that included three types of factors: gateway, aggravating, and mitigating.
The jury decided unanimously that Tsarnaev was at least 18 years old at the time of the attack; that he intentionally killed his victims; that he understood people would die; and that his involvement in the bombings showed a "reckless disregard for human life."
Jurors voted "yes" to some counts of Tsarnaev intentionally inflicting serious bodily injury resulting in multiple deaths.
from BuzzFeed - USNews http://ift.tt/1H7HBnb
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