The Penalty Phase started today for the recently convicted Terrorist Dzokhar Tsarnaev. The same Federal Jury that convicted him will be determining whether he lives or dies.
USAToday is reporting:
"Judge George O'Toole walked jurors through factors they must consider in the first stage of their analysis. He explained that intentional killing or recklessness, coupled with at least one aggravating factor such as targeting an especially vulnerable victim, can justify a death sentence. The jury's other option is life in prison without parole".
Prosecutors face new risks and challenges in this phase, according to Michael Coyne, dean of the Massachusetts School of Law.
"We're a forgiving society," Coyne said, "but you have to ask to be forgiven, and it has to be sincere."
Although the majority of Massachusetts residents oppose the death penalty, this jury might be ready to impose it, courtroom experts say. The vote must be unanimous. If one juror holds out, Tsarnaev gets life even if the other 11 believe he deserves death.
The jury might not see death as the most severe punishment. The government insists that Tsarnaev's writings in the boat where he hid during the manhunt represent his true beliefs. He expressed a desire for death when he wrote, "I am jealous of my brother, who has received the reward of Jannut ul Firdaus," the highest form of paradise in Islam.
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