Prosecutors to Seek Death Penalty in Boston Bombing Case

Washington - Federal prosecutors will seek the death penalty against Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Attorneys for suspect will ask for leniency, arguing he was confused and following orders from his elder brother. They are seeking death penalty for the suspect saying in court papers that the deadly plot was committed in an especially heinous and cruel manner.

According to the report in Los Angeles Times, Attorney General Eric H Holder Jr’s decision, announced Thursday, marks the first time the Obama administration will attempt to execute an accused terrorist in a federal court case. But whether the 20-year-old immigrant will be sentenced to death will be subject to an intense legal fight.

Tsarnaev's defense attorneys will argue for leniency, portraying him as a confused young man under the spell of his more militant older brother, who was killed in a police shootout. The case is being handled in Massachusetts, where capital punishment is unpopular and no one has been put to death in more than 65 years. A plea agreement could be reached in exchange for dropping the death penalty, as has occurred in past cases.

But citing Tsarnaev's "lack of remorse", the Justice Department said it planned to proceed on behalf of the three people killed and 264 others injured on April 15 by a pair of pipe bombs hidden in backpacks near the marathon finish line.

Boston US Attorney Carmen M Ortiz expressed support for the decision in a court filing. She cited the substantial planning and premeditation in the attacks and multiple deaths, including 8-year-old Martin Richard, a particularly vulnerable victim. Further, prosecutors said Tsarnaev, a Kyrgyzstan native who was largely raised in the Boston area, carried out a betrayal of the United States.

Jarrod Clowery of Stoneham, who was hospitalized with shrapnel in his legs after the attack, said he was relieved he would not have to decide Tsarnaev's fate. ‘Those guys were tried and convicted by a power higher than all of us,’ he said. Gov. Deval Patrick of Massachusetts, a former high-ranking Justice Department official, expressed confidence that Tsarnaev would face justice: 'One way or another, based on the evidence, Tsarnaev will die in prison'.