Boston Bomber Guilty

Guilty of conspiracy to use WMD

This means he is getting death penalty?

gerryl said:

This means he is getting death penalty?

Undecided. Sentencing is at a later date.

not surprised.

The defense's strategy was to admit guilt but show that the brother planned it all. Their entire goal is to avoid the death penalty.

A friend of mine who lives in Boston hopes he will NOT get the death penalty, as that would only make him a martyr. A good point, I think.

TarheelsInNj said:

A friend of mine who lives in Boston hopes he will NOT get the death penalty, as that would only make him a martyr. A good point, I think.

I agree with that. I think he will pay more by spending his life behind bars.

unixiscool said:

TarheelsInNj said:

A friend of mine who lives in Boston hopes he will NOT get the death penalty, as that would only make him a martyr. A good point, I think.

I agree with that. I think he will pay more by spending his life behind bars.

Also: isn't it less expensive to jail someone for life than all the costs involved with appeals, etc for the death penalty?

I don't believe in the death penalty and I'd like to be consistent. This guy should get the most severe punishment we can mete out - but not the death penalty. IMHO.

Does Massachusetts even have the death penalty?

ridski said:

gerryl said:

This means he is getting death penalty?

Undecided. Sentencing is at a later date.

He has to go through the penalty phase of the trial. The jurors will need to vote unanimously that he should receive the death penalty. Otherwise, it's up to the judge to decide the punishment, but he cannot impose death without the jury's consent.

I don't imagine the other inmates would take kindly to a guy who bombed their city. Especially since kids were hurt and killed. So, I don't think a lifetime prison sentence is going to go well for him.

Hahaha said:

Does Massachusetts even have the death penalty?

Yes

There is no death penalty in MA. This is a Federal case being tried in MA so the sentence can be the death penalty.

emmie said:

Hahaha said:

Does Massachusetts even have the death penalty?

Yes

No

http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/massachusetts-0

TarheelsInNj said:

I don't imagine the other inmates would take kindly to a guy who bombed their city. Especially since kids were hurt and killed. So, I don't think a lifetime prison sentence is going to go well for him.

I don't think he'll end up in general population. He'll most likely be confined to a cell, alone, in a secure unit 23 hours a day.

Well, that sounds pretty bad too. Works for me.

He's got excellent grounds for appeal.

"Yes, I blew up a bunch of people with a bomb that I made - but it wasn't my idea!"

Opps, my mistake!

He'll probably do his time in federal prison if no death sentence. Also, while people in MA tend to be against the death penalty, nobody was seated on this jury unless they stated they could impose death sentence.

I suspect I'm more conservative than 90% of MOLers, but the death penalty is wrong ALWAYS. Give him life without parole, end of story. It's the moral and the economical choice.

On TV, for what ever it is worth, the talking heads are saying that if he gets life he will be sent to the super max in Florence Colorado because he is a terrorist. There he can look forward to spending the next 60 years of his life locked up 23 hours a day in a small cell, with one hour for exercise in a concrete dog run and a shower maybe twice a week. I suspect that may be worse than a death penalty.

I am not a fan of the death penalty except in the most heinous of cases and I guess this one qualifies, although it is hard to reconcile a college kid whose main interests seemed to be playing soccer and chasing girls with the acts he most assuredly committed. .

Morally, I don't think the death penalty is right. Fiscally, I think it even makes less sense. We are not talking someone convicted under Texas' death penalty law. Federal death penalty cases are few and far between. In addition, there is almost unlimited appeal under federal law.

Check out these statistics (as of 8/31/14)

http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/federal-death-penalty#statutes

Since 1988, the federal government has taken to trial a total of 200 federal death penalty cases involving 293 defendants in 229 trials. These 293 defendants were culled from a larger pool of 493 against whom the Attorney General had authorized the government to seek the death penalty. Excluding 11 defendants who are awaiting or currently on trial on capital charges, 231 of the remaining 482 defendants avoided trial by negotiated plea, when the government dropped its request for the death penalty without a plea agreement, dismissed charges entirely or the judge barred the death penalty. Fourteen were found not guilty of the capital charge. Two others were declared innocent by the government. Charges were dismissed against a third when grave questions were raised about his guilt. There have been three executions. One death row inmate was granted clemency. In cases where juries actually reached the point of choosing between life and death, they imposed 150 (66%) life sentences and 79 (34%) death sentences. Of these 79 sentences of death, 3 defendants received a death sentence twice. Three additional defendants received death verdicts, but new trials were granted and life sentences resulted - one by jury, another by plea, and third by judge.