Free Republic

Since a federal jury on Friday sentenced the convicted bomber to death, the [Boston Marathon] finish line suddenly seems to be a place of ambivalence. Fresh flowers are accumulating. A sense of sorrow lingers in the air. Sightseers who come to snap a photo feel a little self-conscious. Residents train their gaze on the line, and the conversations turn to death — and disappointment. “I was shocked,” said Scott Larson, 47, a records manager who works near the finish line. “The death penalty — for Boston.” To many, the death sentence almost feels like a blot on the city’s collective...

Thank you, jury! In case you had any lingering doubts about the wisdom of these 12 good men and women, consider the scurvy crew that’s frothing at the mouth over the fate of the tousle-haired All-American boy on the cover of Rolling Stone. Moonbats, NPR, The Boston Globe, terrorists — but I repeat myself. A crackpot nun was flown up here from New Orleans five times on the taxpayers’ dime to gaze into Tousle Hair’s dreamy brown eyes and attest to his EBT card-carrying Third World hunkiness. The Joker gives the courthouse camera the finger, and now the jury gives...

Head-in-the-sand approach to Islamic terror There are several “laws” such as Godwin’s Law. Godwin’s Law is named after American lawyer and author, Mike Godwin, and postulates the longer a discussion on the Internet goes, the chance that one of the participants will compare someone or something to Hitler or the Nazis increases. A new and similar law is needed; perhaps it could be called “Ortiz’ Law.” Ortiz’ Law would hypothesize that the longer a person discusses Islamic terrorism, the more certain it will be that that person will say the act or acts in question have absolutely nothing to do...

The vast majority of those cases took place at the state level. Federal prisoners like Tsarnaev are even less likely to be executed. Between 1988, when Congress reinstated the death penalty for federal cases, and 2013, 71 federal defendants were sentenced to death; only three were executed, compared with 10 who had their sentences or convictions overturned on appeal. (One inmate died on death row, and another had his sentence commuted to life by President Bill Clinton in 2001.) No federal execution has taken place since 2003. Of those still awaiting execution, the typical inmate has already spent a decade...

US Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz stated that the Boston Marathon Bombing “was not a religious crime…it was a political crime” at a press conference on Friday. Ortiz said, “Make no mistake, the defendant claimed to be acting on behalf of all Muslims. This was not a religious crime. And it certainly does not reflect true Muslim beliefs.

According to a new poll, most Boston and Massachusetts residents oppose the death penalty for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. The Boston Globe poll found that fewer than 20 percent of Massachusetts residents supported the death penalty for the Boston Marathon bomber. Only 15 percent of Boston residents believe he should be executed. One-third of Massachusetts residents and one-quarter of Boston residents believe execution is typically appropriate for egregious crimes. "It seems that voters have concluded that Tsarnaev does not deserve a quick death, but rather should spend the remainder of his days in a windowless cell contemplating the heinous acts that put...

"We will fight until the end," Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's father told ABC News by phone after Tsarnaev was sentenced to death today for the Boston Marathon bombings. "What a parent can feel at such moment? It is hard," Dzhokhar's father, Anzor Tsarnaev, said from Dagestan, Russia. "Hope exists always. We had hope and still do." Anzor Tsarnaev's brother, Saeed Tsarnaev, said they will appeal. Saeed Tsarnaev blamed the lawyers for giving the family hope and said they are all "very worried" about Dzhokhar. He called the decision a "big tragedy" for the family and "insulting to our name." Anzor Tsarnaev's sister,...

A jury's ruling today to sentence marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to death is "justice" and a warning Boston "will not tolerate terrorism," survivors and police said after the verdict. "This is nothing to celebrate. This is justice," said survivor Michael Ward. "He wanted to go to hell and he's going to get there early." The verdict against Tsarnaev, who'll turn 22 in July, was announced by U.S. District Court Judge George A. O'Toole Jr.'s courtroom clerk Paul Lyness. Tsarnaev showed no emotion as the verdict was read. Marathon bombing survivor Adrianne Haslet-Davis, who lost a third of her left leg...

The mother of the Boston bombing suspects says she does not believe her sons carried out the marathon attacks. “My sons were framed by the US authorities.” [VIDEO AT LINK]

In a first for the embattled publication, one of Rolling Stone’s cover boys was sentenced to death by a federal jury in Boston late Friday afternoon. This is a double whammy this week for the left-wing publication. On top of losing its cover boy, Rolling Stone was also sued this week over a fake rape story published earlier this year.

BREAKING: Dzhokhar #Tsarnaev is to be executed for the Boston Marathon bombing.

Jurors in the trial of Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev have reached a verdict over whether he should be sentenced to life in prison or the death penalty. Tsarnaev is dressed in a dark blazer and light shirt. U.S. marshals are stationed around the courtroom.

Jurors have reached a decision in the penalty phase of the Boston Marathon bombing trial. The jury was tasked with deciding whether Dzhokhar Tsarnaev should be sentenced to life in prison or death for his role in killing four people and wounding hundreds more. Court was to convene at 3 p.m. for the reading of the verdict. Get complete coverage of the Tsarnaev decision on CNN TV, CNN.com and CNN Mobile.

BOSTON — The government pushed strongly for the death penalty in their closing argument in the trial of the Boston Marathon bomber on Wednesday calling it the just punishment for the crime. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Mellin painted a vivid picture of a reckless and remorseless young man driven by radical Islam, bent on destroying as many lives as possible during the week of April 15, 2013. "He struck at what citizens hold dear. He went after the core values of society: children, family, neighborhoods, public safety. After all of the carnage and fear and terror that he has created...

The Sisters Tsarnaev have been nothing but trouble. Double, bubbling trouble. While their Boston Marathon bomber brother Dzhokhar awaits trial this month for the bloody 2012 attacks that killed three and injured hundreds, his elder Chechen immigrant siblings Ailina and Bella remain on the loose in the U.S. after their own frequent run-ins with the law.

The trial of Dzhokar Tsarnaev has gripped America, but in Russia the Boston bomber’s trial has received little media coverage, with even the arrival of five Tsarnaev family members from Russia to testify receiving no attention. The relatives are staying in Massachusetts over the weekend, after a sick juror meant their testimony for the defence could not be heard on Thursday. But Russian state-controlled media has shown little interest in their trip to the US, and a decision appears to have been taken that the Tsarnaevs’ links to Russia should be played down. On 8 April, the jury convicted Tsarnaev...

BOSTON (AP) -- For the first time in court, Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev dropped his blank, impassive demeanor and cried as his sobbing aunt briefly took the stand Monday in his federal death penalty trial. Tsarnaev, 21, wiped tears from his eyes quickly and fidgeted in his chair as his mother's sister sobbed uncontrollably. He had maintained a disinterested expression since his trial began in January. The aunt, Patimat Suleimanova, cried as she sat down about 10 feet from Tsarnaev. The tears began falling before she began to testify, and she was only able to answer questions about her...

A relative of convicted Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was denied entry to the United States last month when he arrived from Russia for the penalty phase of the trial, sources with knowledge of the matter told NBC News. The family member was turned around at Logan International Airport and sent right back home to Russia 10 days ago because he did not want to adhere to security measures imposed on the family members, the two sources confirmed, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing trial. These measures included ankle bracelets and law enforcement monitoring. The sources did...

A computer expert testifying for the defense in the trial of Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev says his brother Tamerlan’s wife did research on her computer to try to find out what the rewards would be for the wife of someone who dies as a martyr fighting in a holy war. Mark Spencer testified Tuesday that Katherine Russell’s computer showed search terms more than a year before the bombings that included: “rewards for wife of mujahedeen” and “if your husband becomes a shahid what are the rewards for you?” …

Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's lawyers pleaded with a jury Monday to spare his life, portraying him as "a good kid" who was led down the path to terrorism by his increasingly fanatical older brother. David Bruck delivered the defense's opening statement in the penalty phase of Tsarnaev's trial, saying there is no punishment Tsarnaev can get that would be equal to the suffering of the bombing victims. "There is no evening the scales," Bruck said. "There is no point in trying to hurt him as he hurt because it can't be done."