Boston Bombing Trial Culminates With Victim Impact Statements

03:47

June 24, 2015

In this March 5, 2015 file courtroom sketch, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, center, is depicted between defense attorneys Miriam Conrad, left, and Judy Clarke, right, during his federal death penalty trial in Boston. (Jane Flavell Collins/AP)

Two dozen people, including survivors and family members of those killed in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, faced convicted bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev today to describe the impact of the attack on their lives.

It's the culmination of a months long emotional trial where Judge George O'Toole formally sentences Tsarnaev to death, a month after a federal jury decided he should receive a death sentence for the bombing.

David Boeri of Here & Now contributor station WBUR takes a look at the purpose of the victim impact statement.

WBUR’s Coverage of the Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Trial
Finish Line podcast with WBUR’s David Boeri and The Boston Globe's Kevin Cullen.

Reporter

David Boeri, senior reporter for WBUR. He tweets @davidboeri.

This segment aired on June 24, 2015.