Nancy Gertner former federal judge who leans left questioned whether Dzhokhar’s trial was necessary because he offered to plead guilty to life in prison. The simple answer to that is it absolutely was necessary. Without a trial we would forever be inundated by conspiracy theorists suggesting he had nothing to do with the bombing (if in fact there was a bombing and not something that occurred on the back lot of a movie studio) and was coerced into pleading guilty. It was positively essential the evidence of the bombing and his guilt be presented to the jury and the public. Kudos to the Boston U.S. attorney for not falling into that trap.
Her real point which she gets to later follows the newspaper’s big press to influence the jury to save terrorist Dzhokhar. She writes: “He was 19, just barely past the date at which the law acknowledges an adolescent’s immature brain. But while the law recognizes 18 as the cutoff point for the death penalty, neuroscience suggests that the period of relative brain immaturity stretches into the early 20s.”
I, my brother, my friends were 17 when we joined the military rather than being drafted. Perhaps we, and millions like us, should have notified the draft boards that we were not available to serve during “the period of relative brain immaturity.” I guess because of that immaturity we weren’t smart enough to do that. I also think that points to what many seem to believe that if wars were fought by old men there would be less of them.
Gertner finds lots of company in the media and with politicians and clerics who want us to be merciful when it comes to executing someone who in an act of war, designed to advance the cause of those who are at war with America, murdered Americans. I hope these people don’t have a problem when our 17-year-old American soldiers execute those in foreign lands with whom we are at war with.
As for me, I oppose the death penalty in most cases but there are some murders or murderers that are so horrific that I believe it should be imposed. There was a young 16-year-old girl working at a convenient store in the Worcester area who was taken from her job by some vicious animal and found raped and murdered in the woods nearby. That’s one type of case which makes my blood boil and having that person face the death penalty would be fine with me.
Keep in mind it was the death penalty that scared that pig Steven Flemmi into telling us some of his horror stories. John Martorano also feared it as have many like-minded low life-thugs who have taken the lives of others. Having it, as the federals do, makes sense especially if it is reserved for the most heinous offenders like terrorists.
As you should recognize, our war against terrorism is not going too well. Since we declared it after 9/11 the numbers of terrorists have increased to such an extent that they now have armies on the field fighting. We have been horrified by the brutality and bloodbath of IS. A mass grave holding up to 1,700 soldiers captured and executed by IS is being unearthed in Tikrit, Iraq. We have awakened a sleeping monster in the form of radical Islam by our folly of being involved in killing Muslim people on their lands.
Dzhokhar’s action was treated as a crime which it was but it was also something greater than that. He was working as a soldier in the army of terrorists who we are at war with. He was acting in a combat role when he set off the bombs among innocent civilians. He was operating on behalf of an enemy of our country.
It is only a matter of time before the soldiers of IS, al Qaeda and other terrorist infiltrate our homeland in strength. When blood again flows on our streets in an ever-increasing slaughter caused by these enemy soldiers will we remain so above it all and insist on these lengthy trials and then debate about the penalty for those who set off bombs in crowds of civilians? I have no answer for that since we have yet to be tried.
I initially urged that Dzhokhar be sent to Guantanamo and tried by a military court. Many told me I was wrong in suggesting that. They said that the way his case was handled is the way we do should do business in this country because it shows the world we are a nation of laws even though the terrorists care little about that. That’s all true but it overlooks that we are at war and during those periods the bottom line is to survive and not to impress.
As for Dzhokhar himself, I would want him put to death if I thought that would deter other terrorists from coming here. I’m sure that it won’t. Keeping him alive or killing him will make him a martyr so that strikes both ways. Do we kill him to revenge the deaths he caused, perhaps? Rehabilitation and restitution have little to do with the matter.
I believe there is only one reason he should be executed. It is to send a message that we are serious people. We want those who make war on us on our homeland to understand that they will die if they murder Americans.
Al Qaeda struck at us on 9/11 because we’d run from them in Lebanon and let them bomb our ships, embassies and even set off an underground explosion in the World Trade Tower without striking back. It is our failure to send a message that made Osama bin Laden believe he could act against us with impunity. If we are truly to be Boston strong we must show we are strong enough to execute one who in an act of war acted with deliberate premeditation to murder people who were peacefully watching a marathon.
The Tsarnaev bros were set up https://sites.google.com/site/thefactsofthebbostonbombing/black-ops-did-it
Tom:
The government put in the evidence of their involvement in the bombing sufficient to show beyond a reasonable doubt the Tsarnaev’s were not set up.
Ah! Giving the man the finger is now a capital offense? Hamdullilah! That kid will die like a Chechen. If the next issue of Dabiq makes mention of him, we’ll know there’s trouble on for certain. DAESH ideologists are mostly Arab religious scholars, but, their field commanders are usually Chechens. So far, there hasn’t been much said about the case on Jihadi forums and chat-rooms. I expect that will change, if Tsarnaev is given a death sentence.
The Feds recently arrested a wanna-be mujahid, Joshua Hatenfield, at O’Hare. He’s facing 15 yrs. for attempting to join the DAESH. After flying to Turkey, con-men picked him up, drove him around in the Turkish countryside for a couple of hours and dumped him off, telling the guy that some one was coming along later to take him the rest of the way. When he got back to civilization, the Turkish police jailed him for six months. Once the Turks were satisfied the guy was a nut, they shipped him back to the States. The FBI were waiting for his plane. Mr. Hatenfield broke no laws. He never made it to Syria, and, probably, couldn’t find it on a map. Hatenfield is a convicted sex-offender who has to register with the police where ever he lives. He cuts a very unsympathetic figure, and, found it difficult to find work, and, secure lodgings. Despite these problems, he somehow accumulated the funds to fly to Egypt. After running around Egypt, screaming about jihad, he was deported. Within a couple of months, he managed to find more dough to fly to Turkey. According to his Mother, Hatenfield, age thirty-four, suffered a life changing head injury (TBI) at age fifteen. He was blown off a bicycle in a traffic mishap. She stated her son was never the same after that and, mentioned that Hatenfield did state time for the sex offense, and, was having problems adjusting to life outside prison. I am very curious about this case. Who gave him the money for his travels? The situation has an odd smell to it.
Matt: Now that the Feds have broken Hatenfield, do you think they are feeding him a narrative with the intention of building a case against the brothers he’s come in contact with since he converted to Islam? After six months of getting softened-up in a Turkish prison, I bet the guy would say just about anything to please his captors. Keep in mind, Hatenfield hurt no one, nor, did he ever have contact with anyone from DAESH. Talking crazy was his only real offense. Can you think of any other instances where individuals have been imprisoned for what is essentially a thought crime? Could Hatenfield have been an unwitting Fed stooge from the git-go?
Bismillah ar-rahman ar-rahim, jailers may chain his body, but, Dzokar’s heart will course the seven realms. The Noble Book will be his universe. Allah will not forsake him.
And, if he’s killed, he’ll wear the proud robes of his execution, as he reclines in the eternal garden of Gennah. Terrible are the punishments meted out by the people of kufr in this dunya, but, more terrible still is the fate awaiting the kufrin on the yawm al-qiyamaat, for they will dwell in the fires of Gehenum.
Every once in a while it’s important to ruminate on what people think on the other side of the mirror. Pierce the surface of its reassuring reflections. Grasp the existence of many worlds.
Agreed. I think Dzhokhar is ready for the Promised Land, middle finger and all. The prosecution seems to be doing a good job, so martyrdom may well be his fate.
Tzarnaev will need to be saying Bismillah every time he enters a toilet, a cell, any other room, and not just out of fear of another inmate. The ‘Ifrit (djinn) will see to that. He is not a shahid. He has offended Allah.
La’anatullah
Ed: Nothing like a little gallows humor. I doubt Tzarnaev would last very long in gen pop. He can better reflect on his sins by spending 23 hours a day in his cell at a supermax.
Danc:
My suggestion probably would not pass a modern day “cruel and unusual punishment” prohibition test, but was mentioned in the historical context of Patriot’s Day as one of the practices of the British justice system in use at the time of the Battle of Lexington and Concord. The boat reminder was intentional sarcasm.
For all of Tzarnaev’s desire to be a “martyr”, he hid in the boat in a desperate attempt to keep living after running over and killing his own brother with a vehicle in an attempt to escape. Tzarnaev has no desire to be a martyr – he is a coward and wants to live. If Tzarnaev chose to stay out in the open he would probably have been killed by the police. A fate similar to Timothy McVeigh is not what I advocate. I favor life imprisonment without any chance of parole in the general population for Tzarnaev. I want Tzarnaev deeply to regret his decisions for years.
Ed: This is a bit too al qaeda – ish for me. I bet Tsarnaev ‘s lawyers are happy you’re not on the jury.
The following has a mention of Paul Revere on his ride:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibbeting
Perhaps gibbeting at Nix’s Mate in Boston Harbor would be in order for Mr. Tzarnaev?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nixes_Mate
He does like boats.
Afterthought: As deputy attorney general, Eric Holder was instrumental in obtaining a presidential pardon for fugitive financier Marc Rich. This was a travesty of justice and a serious stain on the Clinton presidency. I guess this is my way of saying that I think Holder is capable of just about anything. So we’ll see if he has anything up his sleeve in the bombing case. I can’t believe that Senate Republicans are keeping Holder in office. Amazing!
Matt: I think the lethal U.S. drone strikes in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen provide abundant evidence that we’re very serious people. These attacks are ongoing. So I don’t believe folks around the world will conclude that we’ve suddenly gone soft by shipping Tsarnaev to a supermax. I think that life without parole will rightly be seen as an act of mercy given the severity of the crime. No martyrdom. No plausible pretext for a revenge attack.
I see the Globe has continued its campaign against the death penalty with a story about the newlyweds who both lost limbs in the bombing. They oppose the death penalty for substantially the same reasons as Bill and Denise Richard.
“Under our current justice system, we believe that the best way to move forward and achieve our goals is a life sentence in prison without the opportunity for parole or appeals. It is time for us to invest our energy and resources in the future instead of in the past,” wrote Jessica Kensky and Patrick Downes.
There’s no question about the fact that the jurors in the case have heard about or read the Globe’s stories in recent days. Maybe Eric Holder is paying attention too? We’ll soon find out ….
Keep Dzokar on ice out in ADX Colorado. We may need to trade him for one of our people at some time in the future. Think of Tsarnaev like a high value poker chip. If he’s executed, that’s that, but, if he’s kept around for a future trade, he might save some one’s life. Let’s not screw ourselves over a matter of principal. Dzokar will suffer plenty at ADX.