Explosion at the Boston Marathon.

I think everyone will be happy if thoughtful deliberations by the jury (for both guilt/innocence of all charges and punishment) are done fairly quickly, we're two weeks away from the 2015 Boston Marathon.
 
Both sides have made their closing statements to the jury and deliberations start tomorrow. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev faces thirty counts, seventeen of which could bring the death penalty.

In their closing statements defense lawyers admitted Tsarnaev's guilt (as they have all along) but said he was under the influence of a domineering older brother. That without the older brother, Tamerlane Tsarnaev, there would have been no bombing. They are asking the jury to spare Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's life.
 
newyorkguy said:
Both sides have made their closing statements to the jury and deliberations start tomorrow. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev faces thirty counts, seventeen of which could bring the death penalty.

In their closing statements defense lawyers admitted Tsarnaev's guilt (as they have all along) but said he was under the influence of a domineering older brother. That without the older brother, Tamerlane Tsarnaev, there would have been no bombing. They are asking the jury to spare Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's life.
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You know this story's been all over the news, right? The defense team's strategy has been reported from day 1 of the trial. There's probably no need for you to rehash it for us twice in less than twelve hours.
 
Since you could say that about any number of threads in the Current Events forum -- been all over the news -- this strikes me as an odd comment.

Back in Boston, the jury starts deliberating today. With thirty counts to go through I expect it will be a lengthy deliberation. Also, following the (inevitable) guilty verdicts the trial will then go to the penalty phase. That's when the jury will decide on life or the death penalty.

From CNN:
If Tsarnaev is found guilty of at least one of the 17 capital counts, the trial will proceed to a second phase, the so-called penalty phase. That part of the trial will include evidence of aggravating and mitigating factors, and the jury will be asked to weigh elements that make this crime especially heinous against details from Tsarnaev's background and mental health history that would weigh in his favor. Link
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In this case I bet Tsarnaev would probably prefer being executed rather than spend the rest of his life in a prison cell.

ETA - Phone polls in Boston indicates public opinion there favors LWP -life without parole.

Of the 229 registered Boston voters polled, 62 percent said they believe Tsarnaev should be sentenced to life in prison if convicted, while 27 percent said he should be put to death. In another poll of 504 residents of the Greater Boston area — encompassing cities and towns within and along Route 128 — 49 percent said he should receive life in prison, while 38 percent said he should receive the death penalty. The phone survey was conducted March 16-18.
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newyorkguy said:
In this case I bet Tsarnaev would probably prefer being executed rather than spend the rest of his life in a prison cell.
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If so, then surely his defense team is not well-representing him.

ETA - Phone polls in Boston indicates public opinion there favors LWP -life without parole.
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Big surprise. Capital punishment isn't exactly popular around here.
 
DGM said:
I disagree. I have no real problem with the death penalty but, to give this guy "martyr" status, no way. Let him rot in jail.............:mad:
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I'm with that too. But I don't want him around other Muslim prisoners where they can preach hate to each other.
 
Caper said:
I'm with that too. But I don't want him around other Muslim prisoners where they can preach hate to each other.
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Tsarnaev would not be in a prison where he got to be around many other prisoners. The conditions he'd be imprisoned under would be extremely harsh. Probably in his cell 23 hours a day, with little or no interaction with others.

From Wikipedia:

In supermax, prisoners are generally allowed out of their cells for only one hour a day (in California state prisons they are allowed out for one-and-a-half hours); often they are kept in solitary confinement. They receive their meals through ports...in the doors of their cells. When supermax inmates are allowed to exercise, this may take place in a small, enclosed area where the prisoner will exercise alone...

Prisoners are under constant surveillance, usually with closed-circuit television cameras. Cell doors are usually opaque, while the cells may be windowless. Conditions are plain, with poured concrete or metal furniture common. Cell walls, and sometimes plumbing, may be soundproofed to prevent communication between the inmates.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermax_prison#Characteristics
 
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Also (from the same page)

Solitary confinement – Supermax prisons rely heavily on intensive (and long-term) solitary confinement, which is used to isolate and punish prisoners as well as to protect them from themselves and each other. Communication with outsiders is minimal.
No activities – Few opportunities are provided for recreation, education, substance abuse programs, or other activities generally considered healthy and rehabilitative at other prisons.
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Supermax (short for "super-maximum security") is the name used to describe "control-unit" prisons, or units within prisons, which represent the most secure levels of custody in the prison systems of certain countries. The objective is to provide long term, segregated housing for inmates classified as the highest security risks in the prison system—the "worst of the worst" criminals, and those who pose a threat to national and international security
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Tsarnaev is never getting out of Supermax, if he doesn't receive the death penalty. Either way, his life will feel basically worthless.
 
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Ooooh, I don't hold out much hope for his mental state (assuming he's not already considered batcrap insane) if he ends up in Supermax. Humans are wired to be social creatures; being isolated is generally one of the worst things that can happen to your mental health.
 
I wonder if the defense team will appeal his conviction, since they have admitted he was an active participant. If the jury imposes the death penalty, that portion will be appealed automatically, of course.
 
Sabrina said:
Ooooh, I don't hold out much hope for his mental state (assuming he's not already considered batcrap insane) if he ends up in Supermax. Humans are wired to be social creatures; being isolated is generally one of the worst things that can happen to your mental health.
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Yes, a life sentence in Supermax would be hell, but that's almost surely where he'll end up. He falls into the category of prisoners who are too notorious or dangerous to be housed elsewhere. For one thing, he wouldn't last a day in a prison's general population, so his own notoriety alone ensures near-complete isolation. Even if that were not a factor, the nature of his crime and its terroristic nature would likely be enough to send him to supermax.

He's doomed.

There is only one supermax prison in the United States federal system, ADX Florence in Florence, Colorado. It houses several inmates who have a history of violent behavior in other prisons, with the goal of moving them from solitary confinement for 23 hours a day to a less restrictive prison within three years. However, it is best known for housing several inmates who have been deemed either too dangerous, too high-profile or too great a national security risk for even a maximum-security prison. Residents include Theodore Kaczynski, a domestic terrorist otherwise known as the Unabomber, who once attacked via mail bombs; Robert Hanssen, an American FBI agent turned Soviet spy; Terry Nichols, an accomplice to the Oklahoma City bombing; Richard Reid, known as the "Shoe Bomber", who was jailed for life for attempting to detonate explosive materials in his shoes while on board an aircraft; Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the underwear bomber; Richard Lee McNair, a persistent prison escapee; Charles Harrelson, a hitman who was convicted in 1979 of killing Federal Judge John H. Wood, Jr.; and Vito Rizzuto, boss of the "Sixth" Mafia "Family," released on October 5, 2012
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Too bad some telemarketer didn't accidentally dial their cell phone detonators when they were en route to the Marathon.:mad:
 
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