Tousled-hair, smoldering-eyed doll of a terrorist likely to be put to sleep.

William Haskins · Jan 30, 2014

BOSTON (AP) — Federal prosecutors on Thursday announced they will seek the death penalty against 20-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in the Boston Marathon bombing, instantly raising the stakes in what could be one of the most wrenching trials the city has ever seen.

Attorney General Eric Holder's decision to press for Tsarnaev's execution was widely expected. The twin blasts killed three people and wounded more than 260 others, and 17 of the 30 federal charges against him — including using a weapon of mass destruction to kill — carry the possibility of the death penalty.

"The nature of the conduct at issue and the resultant harm compel this decision," Holder said in a statement.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/30/dzhokhar-tsarnaev-death-penalty_n_4694745.html

Snowstorm · Jan 30, 2014

Good. (I love your thread title, William!)

Deleted member 42 · Jan 30, 2014

I see no point in the death penalty.

It won't bring anyone back.

It won't stop someone else from engaging in the same sort of thing.

It won't help Mr. Tsarnaev.

Cranky · Jan 30, 2014

"Tousled-hair, smoldering-eyed doll of a terrorist likely to be put to sleep."

On the topic, I'll be glad when the inevitable circus of a trial is over. I wouldn't place a bet on the outcome of the penalty phase of the trial, either.

kuwisdelu · Jan 30, 2014

Medievalist said:
I see no point in the death penalty.

It won't bring anyone back.

It won't stop someone else from engaging in the same sort of thing.

It won't help Mr. Tsarnaev.

I was wondering how long it would take.

Not that I disagree with a word of it.

cornflake · Jan 30, 2014

Let's see - he said killing is bad, but they felt they had to kill because their people were being killed. So, we're going to (potentially) kill him for killing people, for killing people. That makes sense.

Devil Ledbetter · Jan 30, 2014

I do a double take every time his face is in the news because a pal of mine is a dead ringer for him.

Kylabelle · Jan 30, 2014

That must be quite an experience for your friend, DL.

Magdalen · Jan 30, 2014

Agree the thread title is XLN! Agree the death penalty may be pointless. I've often wondered why "hard-labor" is no longer a penalty. I'd be ok with 30+ years of "breaking rocks in the hot sun" for this.

cornflake · Jan 30, 2014

Magdalen said:
Agree the thread title is XLN! Agree the death penalty may be pointless. I've often wondered why "hard-labor" is no longer a penalty. I'd be ok with 30+ years of "breaking rocks in the hot sun" for this.

If a state or two had gotten a hold of him, it'd certainly be an option.

raburrell · Jan 30, 2014

What Medi said.

regdog · Jan 30, 2014

I am a supporter of the death penalty but not in the case of terrorism.

Don't make martyrs out of them. Lock them in a Super Max so they can spend the rest of their lives isolated from humanity and die an anonymous death.

Cyia · Jan 30, 2014

If he's being tried in Massachusetts, then how can they levy the death penalty? Can the feds carry out an execution in a state where it's been declared unlawful?

robjvargas · Jan 30, 2014

Cyia said:
If he's being tried in Massachusetts, then how can they levy the death penalty? Can the feds carry out an execution in a state where it's been declared unlawful?

Yes. Technically, it's not *in* that state. Federal court. Federal judge. Federal officers. Federal law. When the time comes (if it comes), it'll take place in a federal facility.

J.S.F. · Jan 30, 2014

Death is really too good for him. I guess that Massachusetts doesn't have the death penalty. If it does, good riddance. If it doesn't, then I'd lock him up for the rest of his good-for-nothing life, have an automated food delivery and waste disposal service, slam the door and toss the key away.

cornflake · Jan 30, 2014

Cyia said:
If he's being tried in Massachusetts, then how can they levy the death penalty? Can the feds carry out an execution in a state where it's been declared unlawful?

It's a federal case, not a state one. He'll be tried in a federal court and sentenced and executed in a federal prison. McVeigh was killed in Indiana, which employs the death penalty, though again fed vs. state.

Wilde_at_heart · Jan 30, 2014

regdog said:
I am a supporter of the death penalty but not in the case of terrorism.

Don't make martyrs out of them. Lock them in a Super Max so they can spend the rest of their lives isolated from humanity and die an anonymous death.

I agree there. Isn't that what motivates some of them to begin with, after all?

Jersey Chick · Jan 30, 2014

I don't believe in capital punishment, mostly for the same reasons as Medi, but also because I believe that murder is murder, whether it's state-sanctioned or not. Killing him brings us down to the same level and I'd rather not be on the same level as nobodies like this guy. (Same reason why I wish media types would stop giving the names and flashing the faces of these nobodies. There is a journalist who writes for the Newark Star-Ledger who, whenever he does an article on John Lennon, he refuses to name Lennon's killer - and that's a philosophy I wholeheartedly support.)

Shadow_Ferret · Jan 30, 2014

I've always viewed the death penalty the same way I view putting out rat poison in my garage -- eliminating unwanted vermin.

Haggis · Jan 30, 2014

If they execute him I won't shed a tear. Doesn't change the fact that I think killing people in the name of the state is wrong.

Perks · Jan 30, 2014

He's a piece of shit and I'm still against the death penalty. Can't really reconcile my temperature on this one.

At any rate, The Boston Globe had a fascinating piece on the family Tsarnaev. It's long, but very interesting if you've got the time.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/Page/Bos...tonGlobe.com/2013/12/15tsarnaev/tsarnaev.html

AncientEagle · Jan 30, 2014

I'm betting he won't get the death penalty, considering among other things that it requires a unanimous jury vote, but that he'll get a life sentence without parole. That would be my choice for him.

blacbird · Jan 30, 2014

I'm with Eagle here. I'll go on record as opining that he gets sentenced to life on 23-hour lockdown in a Fed Supermax, a la Ted Kaczynski, Robert Hanssen, Ramzy Youssef. That's the American form of oubliette.

caw

GHO57 · Jan 30, 2014

I never understood the death penalty... you go to sleep, end of.

Life without parole on the other hand... the rest of your life, staring at the same walls, day after day, year after year, decade after decade... and the only excitement you'll ever have is trying to survive the occasional attempts on your life.

William Haskins · Jan 30, 2014

his capacity to draw a breath, enjoy a meal, smile at a pleasant memory, enjoy a pen-pal relationship (or more), watch a tv, relish a book, jack off, daydream, get immersed in a conversation... these all are denied the four people killed by him.

shooting hoops or walking in his natural body, even an hour a day in a confined rec area are denied to dozens of the 240 people who had their limbs blown off and have to adapt to prosthetics, assuming they have medically stabilized enough to do so.

you take a life intentionally and with malice aforethought, you forfeit your life. that's my take.

(i fully respect others' right to have a different opinion)

the death penalty should be carefully applied in the case of overwhelming and thoroughly-vetted evidence.

fuck this shit stain. if he's guilty, give him his appeals and then put his ass to sleep.

right is right.

Tousled-hair, smoldering-eyed doll of a terrorist likely to be put to sleep.

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