Shortly after 9 a.m. Wednesday morning, Judge George O’Toole commenced the trial of Dzhokar Tsarnaev, the alleged Boston Marathon bomber.
Both parties painted an interesting picture of how things went down. The prosecution alleges Tsarnaev had an equal hand in conspiring to commit murder, as well as actually committing it, with his older brother Tamerlan and that they did it under religious pretext as retribution for Muslims killed at the hand of Americans.
Most interestingly, the defense said “it was him,” referring to Tsarnaev as one half of the tandem that carried out the incidents, but that his participation was catalyzed by the influence and manipulation of Tamerlan.
After a brief explanation of general courtroom procedure and an overview of the 30-count federal indictment levied against Tsarnaev, of which 17 are punishable by death, Judge O’Toole handed the floor over to the prosecution which began its opening statements by recounting the setting of that fateful April 15 day.
The streets, already crowded from what Boston Athletic Association Thomas Grilk estimated to be half a million spectators, swelled with Red Sox fans exiting nearby Fenway Park and an influx of parents and children with the day off from school.
During that time, the prosecution alleged, brothers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev made their way down Boylston Street with backpacks slung over their shoulders which they proceeded to strategically place in the densely populated area.
Most people know how the rest of the story unfolded.
Two pressure cooker bombs exploded, killing 3 and injuring 264, sparking a subsequent three day manhunt for the perpetrators.
Prosecutors described the effects of the bombs as having shredded flesh, shattered bones and riddled people with holes to the point of bleeding to death on the sidewalk. And they said that one, or both, of them put three bullets in the head of unsuspecting MIT Police Officer Sean Collier in an attempt to steal his firearm – two in the side and one between the eyes.
Both brothers, contended the prosecution, researched and convened the materials for pressure cooker explosives; both brothers exposed themselves knowingly to radical, Jihadist media including videos and lectures; both brothers used the message of their religious beliefs as justification for murder.
“[Tamerlan] and the defendant were partners,” said the prosecution. “They agreed to do these crimes together and they carried them out together.”
When the defense had the floor, they didn’t refute much of what was said.
“On Marathon Monday, [Tsarnaev] set down a back pack carrying a pressure cooker bomb and placed it next to a tree in front of the Forum restaurant,” argued the defense. “The explosions extinguished three lives.”
Acknowledging full well the admission of guilt, the team posited rhetorically, “so, why a trial?”
They tried pinning most of the blame on Tamerlan, who they noted was the one who actually purchased the bomb materials, downloaded extreme Islamic texts (Dzhokhar did not save them on his desktop) and had “a special kind of influence dictated by his age, their culture, and [his] sheer force of personality.”
Though Tamerlan may have done the heavy lifting, Tsarnaev’s own participation was clear. But rather than argue for his innocence it’s clear the defense will try and keep him from receiving capital punishment.
Among other items both parties agreed upon was that the trial will be a lengthy process and that during this phase, no considerations of a sentencing should have any bearing, as well as that a substantial amount of evidence and testimony will be presented in the forthcoming weeks.
