No Death Penalty: Parents Of Youngest Boston Marathon Victim Urge Government To Remove Option
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Martin Richard’s parents, the youngest Boston Marathon bombing victim, have urged authorities to remove the death penalty as a potential punishment option for the convicted bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
Denise and Bill Richard’s eight-year-old son Martin was one of the three people who died during the April 2013 explosion that happened at the finish line. Their reasoning is that imposing the death sentence could potentially result in years of appeals and making them relieve the most painful day of their entire lives.
According to the parents, they can begin with rebuilding their family and life when the convicted bomber fades out of the media and public view. The couple isn’t speaking for everybody else; just for themselves.
U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz, responding to the parents’ interview said she spoke with the couple multiple times since the start and understands their views.
Ortiz said the relationship she has with all the survivors and victims is extremely important to her. In the last two years, she’s heard from each other them regarding how they feel about the case. She said many of them have a powerful outlook on how to move forward. She said the Department of Justice’s treatment of the case has been influenced and continues to influence by these views.
However, former U.S. Attorney Donald Stern said, the couple’s letter is not likely to alter the government’s plan. He said the American justice system doesn’t place the burden on victims or their families to decide if the death penalty is an appropriate form of punishment. Stern said the jury will decide if it’s something to impose on the convicted party.
The letter comes after one day of a poll that surveyed the area’s registered voters on the death penalty versus life in prison. 58 percent of voters back the idea of life in prison with 31 percent voting for the death penalty. In the city itself, 26 percent of people asked were in favor of the death penalty, with an overwhelming 61 percent supporting a life sentence punishment.
Tsarnaev’s penalty part of the trial begins Apr. 21, the very next day after the 2015 Boston Marathon is held.
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