Cardinal O’Malley opposes death penalty for Tsarnaev
Tsarnaev has been ‘neutralized,’ Catholic bishops write
“The Boston Marathon bombing trial is a painful reminder of the harm that impacts many people even beyond those who are killed or maimed by violent criminal acts,” O’Malley and other bishops in the Boston Archdiocese wrote.
However, because Tsarnaev has been, in their words “neutralized,” they see no justification for wavering from the church’s position.
The jury in Boston’s federal court will have the option of giving Tsarnaev either a prison term or the death penalty. Only a single vote among the jurors would prohibit his death by execution.
“The defendant will never again have the ability to cause harm. Because of this, we, the Catholic Bishops of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, believe that society can do better than the death penalty,” they wrote.
Tsarnaev’s lawyer, in a strategy to save him from the death penalty, says he participated in the 2013 bombings, but was led by his older brother. Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed in a shootout with police days after the twin attacks that killed three people and wounded more than 260.
Joining O’Malley were Bishops Edgar da Cunha of Fall River, Mitchell Rozanski of Springfield and Robert McManus of Worcester.
No comments:
Post a Comment