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April 22, 2015

Couple Injured in Marathon Bombing Oppose Death Penalty for Tsarnaev 
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The sentencing phase of the trial of convicted Boston Marathon bomber
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has opened in Boston, with the jury to decide whether
Tsarnaev faces the death penalty or life in prison. A pair of newlyweds
who lost limbs in the bombings have become the latest to call on the
federal government to drop its pursuit of the death penalty. In a
statement, Jessica Kensky and Patrick Downes wrote, "the defendant's
objective on April 15, 2013, and our objective in deciding his
punishment should not be one and the same. ... we must overcome the
impulse for vengeance." The parents of eight-year-old Martin Richard,
who was killed in the attack, have also opposed the death penalty for
Tsarnaev.

 

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