I’ll never forget the moment I heard the news about the Boston Marathon Bombings.
I had just moved from Boston to Seattle six months prior, and the Boston Marathon had always been an exciting time for the residents of the beautiful New England city that I once called my home. I knew that my friends would be watching the race at various points throughout the city, so when I received word of the bombing at the finish line, my mind and heart raced with worry.
Fast forward two years to 2015. Thankfully, none of my friends were injured, but three people were killed that day, and nearly 300 more were left severely wounded. After the bombing, Boston quickly proved its resiliency in the way that communities leaped to support those who were affected by the senseless act of violence committed by brothers Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev. Today, people are still recovering from the trauma that the bombings caused; Bostonians will never forget the violence that was carried out in their incredible city. And yesterday, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was found guilty on all counts related to the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.
According to NPR’s Eyder Peralta,
The jury convicted Tsarnaev on all charges, ranging from carjacking to using a weapon of mass destruction resulting in death. Tsarnaev was found guilty in the deaths of Krystle Campbell, Lingzi Lu and 8-year-old Martin Richard during the bombings as well as for the death of MIT police officer Sean Collier during a shootout that ensued after the bombings. Seventeen of the 30 counts can carry the death penalty.
WBUR live-tweeted the verdict yesterday, and explains that the sentencing phase will not commence until next week. The tweets reveal that many perceive Tsarnaev as have zero remorse for the deaths and pain he caused, and prosecutors called him “cold and calculating.”
Tsarnaev’s conviction is a small comfort to those most affected by his horrific actions; it provides a restored sense of justice to victims of the bombing, an act of violence that is still largely incomprehensible.
Follow the story as it unfolds and learn more about the verdict by visiting WBUR’s breakdown of the trial.
