Boston Marathon bombing: US to seek death penalty

Philadelphia/New York: The US government will seek the death penalty for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the former college student awaiting trial for allegedly bombing the Boston Marathon last year, killing three people and injuring 260. The bombing was the first deadly terrorist attack in the US since 11 September 2001.

The decision by US attorney general Eric Holder was made after hearing arguments from Tsarnaev’s defence team made over the past several months.

It was announced on Thursday by Boston US attorney Carmen Ortiz. “Tsarnaev’s intentional involvement in the violent acts, his lack of remorse and his betrayal to the US justify a death sentence,” Ortiz said in a filing. “Tsarnaev committed the offense in an especially heinous, cruel, and depraved manner.”

He is charged with leaving home-made bombs in crowds near the marathon’s finish line on 15 April. The bombing was the first deadly terrorist attack in the US since 11 September 2001.

Tsarnaev, 20, is being held in a federal medical facility in Ayer, Massachusetts. He pleaded not guilty in July to 30 counts, including allegations he killed a university police officer in the days after the attack. Bloomberg