Boston Marathon Bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Sentenced to Death

BOSTON (Reuters) – Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on Wednesday apologized for the deadly 2013 attack at a hearing, and a U.S. judge formally sentenced him to death for killing four people and injuring 264 in the bombing and its aftermath.

“I am sorry for the lives I have taken, for the suffering that I have caused you, for the damage I have done, irreparable damage,” Tsarnaev, 21, told a courtroom packed with parents of some of the dead and some of those wounded on April 15, 2013.

It was the first time that Tsarnaev, who did not speak in his own defense during his trial, had addressed the court.

“In case there is any doubt, I am guilty of this attack, along with my brother,” Tsarnaev said, standing at the defense table.

Tsarnaev had been found guilty killing three people and injuring 264 in the bombing near the finish line of the world-renowned race, as well as fatally shooting a police officer three days later. The same federal jury that convicted him in April voted for the death penalty in May.

The bombing was one of the highest-profile attacks on U.S. soil since Sept. 11, 2001.

“As long as your name is mentioned, what will be remembered is the evil you’ve done,” U.S. District Judge George O’Toole told Tsarnaev before sentencing him to death by lethal injection. “What will be remembered is that you murdered and maimed innocent people and that you did it willfully and intentionally. You did it on purpose.”

Tsarnaev spoke after two dozen people, including those who lost limbs and loved ones in the bombing, spoke of the attack’s heavy toll on their lives.

Rebekah Gregory, who lost her left leg on that blood-soaked April day, addressed Tsarnaev directly.

“Terrorists like you do two things in this world. One, they create mass destruction, but the second is quite interesting,” Gregory said. “Because do you know what mass destruction really does? It brings people together. We are Boston strong and we are America strong, and choosing to mess with us was a terrible idea.

“How’s that for your victim impact statement?”

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