Survivors say justice served

Boston

Survivors of the Boston Marathon bombings said justice had been served, but reacted with mixed emotions after a jury handed down the death penalty verdict to convicted killer Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

“He’s going to go to hell. That’s where he wanted to go,” said Michael Ward, a firefighter who was off duty at the time of the April 15, 2013 attacks but who treated victims at the scene.

“I remember when those bombs went off and I remember the vile, disgusting thing that this person did,” he told reporters almost immediately after the sentence was handed down following 14 hours of jury deliberations.

“This is a matter of justice,” he said. “No one’s here celebrating. If you ask 10 people you’ll get 10 different opinions,” he said.

“But ultimately, justice has prevailed today... He wanted to go to hell and he’s going to get there early,” he added.

Liz Norden, whose two adult sons each lost a leg in the attacks at the marathon finish line, said she would be there “every step of the way” if ever afforded the option of watching Tsarnaev be put to death.

“I feel justice for my kids,” she told reporters. “It feels like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.”

Ballroom dancer and amputee Adrianne Haslet-Davis tweeted: “My heart is with our entire survivor community. I am thrilled with the verdict!”

Yet there was also an element of surprise and sadness over the sentence.

The death sentence was possible only under federal law. The state of Massachusetts outlawed capital punishment in 1947 and opinion polls had suggested residents favored a life sentence for Tsarnaev.Some survivors, including the parents of eight-year-old victim Martin Richard, had publicly opposed the death penalty, worried that years, if not decades, of prospective appeals would dredge up their agony.