Footage of Boston Bomber flipping off camera three months after terror attack is released

Is this the photo that will kill him? Footage of Boston Bomber flipping off camera three months after terror attack is released...

A still from a surveillance footage shows the moment Dzhokhar Tsarnaev flipped off a camera in his jail cell three months after his arrest. The image was first showed to jurors in his death penalty trial on Tuesday, and entered into evidence the next day. Defense attorneys for the 21-year-old tried to claim in court on Wednesday that the picture was shown out of context. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nadine Pellegrini said the striking image was Tsaranev's 'message to America' and evidence that he was unrepentant for the crime and deserving of the death penalty. 'He's simply callous and indifferent to human life. It's his character that makes the death penalty appropriate and just,' she added.

·  The image of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev flipping off a camera in his jail cell was first shown in court on Tuesday

·  It wasn't released to the public until Wednesday though, when it was entered into evidence

·  Prosecutors say the image is evidence that Tsarnaev is unrepentant for his crimes and therefore deserving of the death penalty 

·  However, defense attorneys for the convicted 21-year-old terrorist say the still from the surveillance video was taken out of context

This jarring image of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev flipping off a camera three months after his arrest may be the nail in the coffin on his chances of avoiding the death penalty - but defense attorneys for the convicted terrorist say it was taken out of context. 

Prosecutors showed the never-before-seen image of the terrorist in court on Tuesday, during their opening statements, but it wasn't released to the public until Wednesday when it was entered into evidence.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Nadine Pellegrini said the striking image was Tsaranev's 'message to America' and evidence that he is unrepentant for the crime and therefore deserving of the death penalty.

Over the next several weeks,  jurors in the case will be hearing more testimonies from victims and family members impacted by the attack that killed three and injured more than 250 as they decide whether to sentence 21-year-old Tsarnaev to life in prison or the death penalty.

The release of the image on Wednesday was certainly a battle lost for defense attorneys who have been trying to paint Tsarnaev as a secondary player in the attacks, which they say were masterminded by his extremist older brother Tamerlan.  

A new picture of Boston Bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was released today, of him flipping off a camera in his jail cell three months after his arrest

In the picture, Tsaranev wears an orange jumpsuit and puts on a cocky image, offensively flipping off a video camera and puckering his lips in his cell on the day of his arraignment.   

Clearly upset with the use of the picture, defense attorney Miriam Conrad fought to have the full clip of Tsarnaev's stay in a federal courthouse jail cell played for the court on Wednesday to show the full context the still was taken from.

The video was taken in July 2013, three months after his arrest, as he was brought to Boston federal court for his first court appearance.

At the beginning of the video, Tsarnaev is seen being led into his jail cell shortly after 11am. Reporters who were in court to watch the clip said Tsarnaev appears complaint as officers take off his restraints and leave him alone in the cell.

When Tsarnaev notices the camera in the corner, he walks up to it and appears to use the reflective glass as a make-shift mirror, tidying his hair. 

A few minutes later he gets up again to look in the camera, and this is when he is seen flipping off the camera. However, right before flashing the offensive sign, he puts up his fingers in a peace sign. He then quickly gestures the middle finger and goes back to sit down. 

The clip ends with Tsarnaev going to the front of the cell to speak to someone in the hall, and then to the back where the toilet is.

Conrad also called US Marshal Gary Oliveira to the stand as a witness. He was the US Marshall watching Tsarnaev on the surveillance feed that day and said he was later ordered to write a report about the incident by his superiors.

He says he usually writes incident reports on the day they happen, but wrote the report about Tsarnaev flipping off the camera two days later after receiving the direct command.

In her opening statements on Tuesday, Assistant U.S. attorney Nadine Pellegrini said the photo was evidence that Tsarnaev was and is not repentant for his crimes. 

Pellegrini also old the jury that they should not be swayed by the defense's explanations for why Tsarnaev carried out the attack with his brother.

'You're going to hear tales of family dysfunction, but that's true of millions of people who do not go on to murder a child.

'He's simply callous and indifferent to human life. It's his character that makes the death penalty appropriate and just,' Pellegrini said.  

Tsarnaev was convicted of all 30 charges against him on April 8. 

During the penalty phase, the defense is expected to continue portraying Tsarnaev's brother, Tamerlan, 26, as a domineering follower of radical Islam who convinced his then 19-year-old brother that America had to be punished for its wars in Muslim countries. Tamerlan died four days after the bombings when he was shot during a firefight with police and run over by Dzhokhar during a getaway attempt.

Life or death: The penalty phase in the trial of Boston bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev began Tuesday in federal court, with prosecutors showing a never-before-seen image of the convicted terrorist flipping off a camera in his cell three months after his arrest

Prosecutors, meanwhile, have continued to call on victims and their family members to emphasive the brutality of the bombings. 

During the first phase, several survivors testified about devastating injuries, including lost limbs. Others described watching friends and loved ones die, including Martin Richard, the 8-year-old Boston boy; Lingzi Lu, a 23-year-old Boston University graduate student from China; and Krystle Campbell, a 29-year-old restaurant manager from Medford.

If even one juror votes against the death penalty, Tsarnaev will get a life sentence. 

Judge George O'Toole Jr. told the jury the penalty phase is expected to last about four weeks.

Daily Mail