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Parents Of Martin Richard Ask For No Death Penalty For Tsarnaev

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In Boston next week, the jury takes up the question of whether or not to give Dzhokhar Tsarnaev the death penalty, after convicting him on all charges in the Boston Marathon bombing.

But in this morning's Boston Globe, a couple of powerful voices have weighed in: Bill and Denise Richard. They are the parents of 8-year-old Martin Richard, who was one of the three people killed in the explosions at the finish line in 2013.

Both parents and Martin's sister Jane were severely wounded as well. The Richard couple asks that the Justice Department not seek the death penalty in return for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev waiving his right to appeal and spending the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Here & Now's Robin Young speaks with Boston Globe reporter David Abel, who has spent an extensive amount of time with the Richard family, about their decision.

The family of Martin Richard including Bill Richard, along with Boston mayor Marty Walsh and other members of the victims families stand during a wreath-laying ceremony commemorating the one-year anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings on Boylston Street near the finish line on April 15, 2014 in Boston, Massachusetts. Last year, two pressure cooker bombs killed three and injured an estimated 264 others during the Boston marathon, on April 15, 2013. (Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)
The family of Martin Richard, including Bill and Denise Richard and their children Jane and Henry, along with Boston mayor Marty Walsh and other members of the victims families stand during a wreath-laying ceremony commemorating the one-year anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings on Boylston Street near the finish line on April 15, 2014 in Boston, Massachusetts. Last year, two pressure cooker bombs killed three and injured an estimated 264 others during the Boston marathon, on April 15, 2013. (Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)

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This segment aired on April 17, 2015.

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