A Boston jury has found Dzhokhar Tsarnaev guilty for his involvement in the 2013 bombing of the Boston Marathon which resulted in the death of four people and injured hundreds of others.
On Wednesday afternoon, Tsarnaev, 21, was found guilty of all 30 charges he faced – 17 of which carry the death penalty. The first guilty charge announced was conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction. But the charges covered the conspiracy with his brother, Tamerlan, through the bombings, flight and firefight with police that claimed the life of MIT Officer Sean Collier.
The case now goes to federal court where the same jury, which consists of seven women and five men, will todecide if Tsarnaev will get the death penalty or spend life in prison. Deliberations, which began on Monday, took around 12 hours. All of this comes nearly two years after the bombings took place.
According to USA Today, Tsarnaev did not show any emotion as Federal Judge George O'Toole read guilty verdict after guilty verdict.
Massachusetts does not usually allow the death penalty, but Governor Charlie Baker can allow the trial to take place in the state with capital punishment. If he does not, the trial will continue in a jurisdiction that allows it.
During the trial, Tsarnaev's lawyers openly admitted that their client was involved in the bombings. The defense only called four witnesses to the stand, who presented five hours of testimony in total. By contrast, the prosecution called 92 witnesses to the stand over nearly two weeks.
Throughout the case Tsarnaev's lawyers presented a defense that asserted that the plot's mastermind, Tsarnaev's older brother Tamerlan, coerced him or brainwashed him in to participate in the crimes.
