Boston bomber appeal likely to be 'slow, torturous process'

DZHOKHAR A TSARNAEV — (Image credit: FBI)

Boston bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who was sentenced to death over the weekend, could sit on death row for "decades" if lawyers attempt to appeal his punishment, experts have said.

Boston bombs: five things we have learned ahead of trial

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The prosecution's opening move was to show the jury a photograph of Dzhokhar in a holding cell, three months after the bombing. He could be seen in an orange prison jumpsuit holding up his middle finger to the lens. Prosecutors suggested it was an example of how he remains an "unrepentant killer". However, the defence argued that, in context, it was the actions of a teenager bored in a cell, more likely rooted in selfie culture than jihad.

Prosecutors continued to call survivors of the bombing and relatives of those who died. Celeste Corcoran, who lost her legs, told jurors how she had been unable to reach her daughter Sydney, who was also seriously wounded in the attack. "The most heart-wrenching thing as a mother is to see your child in pain and not be able to get up and go to her," she told the court. The father of Krystle Campbell, who died in the bombing, recalled how he initially believed his daughter was alive because of mistaken identity. When he found out the truth, he passed out, the court heard.

The defence argued that Dzhokhar should be forced to spend the rest of his life in the toughest prison in the federal system, the US Penitentiary Administrative Maximum Facility, also known as the ADX, in Florence, Colorado. His lawyers suggested that living in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day would guarantee Dzhokhar obscurity and an experience akin to living hell, a more fitting punishment than the death penalty.

Dzhokhar's defence lawyers have been trying to persuade the jury that his older brother Tamerlan was the driving force behind the attack. Five family members have taken to the witness stand, including three cousins and two aunts. One cousin told the court that as a child Dzhokhar had cried while watching The Lion King. Another aunt said the two brothers were "so good, they wouldn't hurt a fly". However, the relatives acknowledged they had not seen Dzhokhar since he was eight years old, before he moved to the US. In a rare display of emotion, Dzhokhar used a tissue to wipe his eyes and nose after his mother's sister, Patimat Suleimanova, broke down in the witness stand.

Dzhokhar's teachers and friends told the court that they never suspected the "laid-back" and "caring" defendant was planning the attack. The jury also heard that the brothers' father was mentally ill and that in Chechen culture the eldest son was therefore expected to lead the family. Defence witnesses claimed Dzhokhar was unlike his aggressive older brother Tamerlan. A friend of Tamerlan's widow said she had become concerned after he cheated on his wife and tricked her into thinking she had Aids.

Sister Helen Prejean, a Roman Catholic nun famous for counselling death row inmates, took the witness stand to vouch for 21-year-old bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Prejean, whose book about her experiences was made into the 1995 film Dead Man Walking starring Susan Sarandon, claimed Dzhokhar was "genuinely sorry" for the pain he caused his victims. The final defence witness in the second phase of the trial, Prejean spoke briefly about how she developed a rapport with Dzhokhar after she spent time studying Islam. They have met five times since March and talked about religion, she said. Speaking about the three people killed in the blasts, Dzhokhar allegedly told Prejean that "no one deserves to suffer like they did". She told the court: "I had every reason to think he was taking it in and was genuinely sorry for what he did. The groundwork and the trust was there. And I knew. I felt it."

The trial started out with a surprise move from Dzhokhar's defence team, who admitted "it was him" who planted one of the bombs. Nevertheless, Dzhokhar is pleading not guilty. Robert Bloom, a Boston College law professor, tells Boston television station WCVB that this might be a strategy to help them appeal later on. For example, by forcing a trial, his lawyers may be able to appeal on grounds of the jury make-up or the location of the chosen courthouse. The jury will still have to find beyond reasonable doubt that each count has been proven, but experts suggest the defence will be focusing not on avoiding a guilty verdict but avoiding a death sentence.

Several survivors have testified in court, including Bill Richard, whose eight-year-old son Martin died in the bombings. The jury heard how the little boy's body was torn apart by an explosion near the finish line and how his skin changed colour. But his father was forced to leave Martin's side to save his seven-year-old daughter who had her leg blown off. Another survivor, Jessica Kensky, who lost both her legs in the explosion, recalled hearing screams and seeing blood everywhere. She was trying to help her partner, who also lost his leg, and did not realise that she was on fire until a man pushed her down and began extinguishing the flames.

The court has been shown CCTV footage of Dzhokhar carrying a backpack on the day of the marathon. Prosecutors claim it contained one of the bombs. He is seen using a mobile phone just before the first bomb goes off. Seconds later a second bomb detonates where he was standing. Footage shows him fleeing the scene among scores of terrified people, but less than half an hour after the blasts, he is seen buying milk at a Whole Foods store.

The FBI revealed secret Twitter accounts allegedly used by Dzhokhar in a bid to show that he had violent jihadi views. FBI special agent Steven Kimball claimed that Dzhokhar used the anonymous accounts to praise an American al-Qaeda cleric and declare hope for "victory over kafir [non-believers]". Prosecutors say Dzhokhar also downloaded jihadist material onto his computer, reports ABC News. However, the defence pointed out that the Twitter feeds had been updated since Dzhokhar's arrest, suggesting that someone else might have access to the account. They also claimed many of the tweets shown to the jury were taken out of context and some posts, such as a reference to partying on 11 September, were actually quotes from comedy shows.

Jurors were shown the boat in which Dzhokhar hid from police following the attack. He allegedly used a pencil to scrawl messages on the sides of the boat, which was marked with bullet holes and streaks of blood. "Now I don't like killing innocent people it is forbidden in Islam but due to said [a bullet hole obliterated the word] it is allowed," said one note. He allegedly wrote than he could not stand to see the US government go "unpunished" for killing Muslims and that he was jealous that his brother had achieved paradise by dying like a holy warrior. "We Muslims are one body, you hurt one you hurt us all," he wrote.

The state finished its case with evidence from Henry Nields, Boston's chief medical examiner, who gave an official account of the wounds inflicted on the victims. Several jurors cried as they were shown graphic autopsy photographs, reports CNN. Nields described in detail how Martin Richard had died, explaining that the bomb severed the little boy's spinal cord and abdominal aorta, causing him to bleed to death in minutes, if not seconds. He suffered several other wounds, including severed intestines, a ruptured stomach and third-degree burns. The government's final question was to ask Martin's age. "He was eight years old," said Nields.

The defence has begun its case, with two witnesses called to challenge the case put forward by the FBI. One focused again on the Twitter posts, while the other used GPS data to suggest that Dzhokhar was not the one to buy parts of the bombs. A cell site analyst testified that Dzhokhar's mobile phone was being used in south-eastern Massachusetts, where he was at university, when pressure cookers were bought north of Boston and another time when large quantities of BB shot – steel pellets used as ammunition for air pistols – were being bought in New Hampshire.

Prosecutors accused Dzhokhar of wanting to "punish" the United States in a calculated, bloodthirsty attack, while the defence claimed the attack would not have happened if not for his older brother Tamerlan. Prosecutor Aloke Chakravarty told the court that Dzhokhar was purposefully "punishing" America for its wars in Muslim countries. "There was nothing about this day that was a twist of fate," he said. "This was a cold, calculated terrorist act. This was intentional. It was bloodthirsty. It was to make a point. It was to tell America that 'We will not be terrorised by you anymore. We will terrorise you.'" Once again, prosecutors showed footage from the day of the bombing, including images of severed limbs and the sounds of victims screaming. While the defence referred to Dzhokhar as a "kid" and a "teenager", the state described the brothers as "partners" and "a team".