Dzhokhar Tsarnaev “wanted to punish America” when he and his brother Tamerlan planted bombs at the Boston Marathon, the prosecutor has told the jury at his trial.
The comments came as closing arguments commenced at the trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who allegedly perpetrated the bombings.
Judge George O’Toole outlined the law to the 18-person jury ahead of last-ditch arguments from the lawyers.
If found guilty, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who is charged with 30 counts, will face life imprisonment or execution.
His lawyers admit he carried out the attacks but say he was under the influence of his radicalized brother.
Prosecutors are expected to remind the jury of the attack’s brutality.
Judge George O’Toole explained to the jury how the 30 separate counts were related to the different elements involved – the bombings during the race, the murder of a police officer, a car jacking and a shoot-out with police.
Three people, including an 8-year-old boy, died after two pressure cooker bombs packed with nails, ball bearings and other shrapnel detonated in April 2013.
More than 260 people were injured, with many losing limbs.
Earlier in the trial, the defense made the surprise admission that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, now 21, had participated in the attacks.
Defense lawyers argue that Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who died during a massive manhunt, had orchestrated the attacks and by doing so they hope to spare their client the death penalty.
If convicted, a second phase will determine the punishment, and the jury will have to decide whether Dzhokhar Tsarnaev will be put to death.
Boston Marathon attacks were the deadliest terror attack on US soil since 9/11.
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Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, Suspect 2 in the Boston Marathon bombings, has been captured alive in Watertown and taken into custody, police have said.
Gunfire was heard as Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was reportedly found hiding in a boat in a backyard in Watertown.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, had escaped on foot early on Friday after a police shootout that claimed the life of his elder brother, 26-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev.
Three people died and more than 180 were hurt in Monday’s Boston Marathon bombings.
Boston Police Department tweeted: “CAPTURED!!! The hunt is over. The search is done. The terror is over. And justice has won. Suspect in custody.”
A law enforcement official told the Associated Press news agency that suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was covered in blood.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, Suspect 2 in the Boston Marathon bombings, has been captured alive in Watertown and taken into custody
Police helicopters buzzed overhead, and bomb squad vans and ambulances were in position around the house in Franklin Street in Watertown on Friday night.
CNN reported that a family of ten were removed from the scene and officers were seen carrying children.
The home reportedly belongs to Mr. Henneberry and Elizabeth Henneberry, a couple in their mid-sixties.
At one stage a series of about 15 explosions erupted, which local television channels speculated could have been flash-bang grenades used by the authorities.
A local resident, Anna Bedirian, told Reuters news agency: “There’s about 50 guys there with machine guns and they all got bulletproof vests on, some of them are holding shields.
“There are a couple of armored cars and they’re all standing around.”
Friday night’s breakthrough came less than an hour after authorities lifted a city-wide order for residents to stay indoors, and reopened the transport system, as the trail appeared to have gone cold.
Thousands of SWAT team officers scoured the streets all day in a manhunt that virtually shut down the city.
Officials had shut down all mass transit and warned close to one million people in Boston and some of its suburbs not to leave their homes.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, a college student, had fled on foot following a gun battle that left 200 spent rounds and a car chase in which he and his brother hurled explosives at police, authorities said.
Brothers Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev also shot and killed an MIT policeman and severely wounded another officer late on Thursday, authorities said, hours after the FBI released images of marathon-bombing suspects.
Law enforcement officials and family members have identified Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev as ethnic Chechens who had been living in America for about a decade.
The FBI interviewed Tamerlan Tsarnaev in 2011 after a request from a foreign government, US law enforcements officials have confirmed. But agents closed the case after finding no reason for concern.
Boston Marathon attack killed Martin Richard, 8, Krystle Campbell, 29, and Lu Lingzi, 23, a postgraduate student from China.
Authorities have taken three people into custody in connection with the Boston bombings in New Bedford, Massachusetts, 65 miles south of the city, the Boston Globe reports. It is unknown how they were connected to the case.
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Just hours after the FBI released photos and video of the two Boston bombing suspects, the nearby town of Cambridge fell victim to rampage.
On Thursday night, 19-year-old Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev of Chechnya and his 26-year-old brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, were believed to have robbed a 7-Eleven with bombs strapped to their chest, then murdered a police officer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) campus and carjacked a Mercedes SUV with the driver still in the car for 30 minutes.
Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev FBI wanted poster
After dropping off the carjacking victim at a nearby gas station, at 11 p.m. police caught up to the SUV four miles outside of Cambridge where a shootout ensued between the suspects and authorities. Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev escaped the shootout in the SUV, driving over his wounded brother Tamerlan’s body in the process.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev died in the hospital around 4 a.m. Friday morning from blast wounds on his chest; an explosive device was found strapped to his person.
Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev remains at large with the FBI releasing his wanted poster.
The Boston bombing suspects have been identified as brothers Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who are originally from a Russian region near Chechnya and lived in the US for at least one year, sources told the Associated Press.
The surviving Boston bomber, named Suspect 2 by police, who was seen on CCTV wearing a white baseball cap, has been identified as Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev, aged 19.
Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev is said to be from Russia’s south, not far from the Chechen Republic.
The man reportedly lived in Turkey before arriving legally in the US about a year ago.
The Boston bombing suspects have been identified as brothers originally from a Russian region near Chechnya
The name is listed among the recipients of Cambridge scholarships in 2011.
His brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, has been
identified as Suspect 1 and died overnight following a firefight with police.
His brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, has been identified as Suspect 1 and died overnight following a firefight with police.
NBC News’ Pete Williams said earlier Friday morning that the two suspects likely had “foreign military training,” and had been in the country for about a year.
Later he said they were brothers, and added: “They were legal permanent residents. They were in this country legally, at least a year. They appear to be from Turkey, possibly Chechens from Turkey. That seems to be the nationality here.”
Dzhokhar A Tsarnaev identified as one of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects
Just before 7 a.m. Friday morning, the Associated Press confirmed Pete Williams’ reporting and naming Tsarnaev.
Born July 22, 1993, according to Pete Williams, Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev attended Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, has a Massachusetts drivers’ license and has been in the country for around a decade.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev became a legal permanent resident, according to NBC, in 2007.
He died overnight in the firefight with police, suffering from “blast and potentially gunshot wounds …probably a blast injury [and] possibly shrapnel” throughout his trunk.
A previous NBC report claims the two immigrated at least two years ago.
Both brothers are said to have Massachusetts drivers’licenses.
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