It took 11 hours spread over two days for the federal jury in the trial of Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, but a short time ago, the panel reconvened, returning a verdict of guilty on most charges.
From the New York Times:
The bombings almost two years ago transformed one of the world’s most prestigious road races on a glorious spring afternoon into a scene of carnage with bodies strewn across Boylston Street, giving the nation a horrifying glimpse into the consequences of homegrown, self-taught terrorism. The bombs, planted in retaliation for American-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, killed three spectators, blew the limbs off 17 others and wounded 240 more, leaving many with life-altering injuries.
During the trial, the attorneys for Tsarnaev, who admitted that he had been involved in the bombings, put up a minimal defense, calling a total of four witnesses whose testimony taken together spanned five hours. The government, by contrast, called 92 witnesses whose testimony 15 days.
The second, more contentious phase of the trial now begins. In it, the same jury will decide whether to give Tsarnaev the death penalty or life in prison.
