Boston Marathon Bombing Survivor Adrianne Haslet 'Livid' At Court Ruling
BOSTON (CBS) -- On Friday, to the federal court ruled to throw out Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's death sentence in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. Some survivors shared their reactions on Instagram.
Adrianne Haslet was a professional dancer when she lost part of her left leg in the bombings. She ran the Boston Marathon in 2016.
"I'm so livid at today's ruling by the federal court. First and foremost, I cannot emphasize enough, without a shadow of a doubt, that the criminal justice system needs a complete overhaul to stop racial profiling, and the death penalty is used in far too many cases of injustice. AND. The death penalty should be used in this particular case. This terrorist admitted in court he was guilty of crimes committed against our country. He confessed, with his brother, to a man who testified in court that their plans were to drive to New York and bomb the city too. This terrorist gave the finger when asked if he felt guilty. . . He is a threat to all of us and he needs to die," Haslet wrote. "I'm not a woman with a grudge, I'm a human with a brain."
Survivor Rebekah Gregory was among the first witnesses to testify against Tsarnaev.
She wrote on Instagram: "To the Federal Appeals Court - I want you to know that what you did today, made it obvious that it's no longer about right and wrong. Your decision to overturn something that shouldn't have been a question to begin with, has now opened old wounds for everyone that was affected- wounds that we have been attempting to heal from for SEVEN years. But that doesn't matter because today you agreed with HIM...that HE didn't get a fair trial. And since you're so concerned with his outcome, what about the innocent lives that were taken that day? Where is their justice? How is this in any way fair for those families to be forced to endure the agony a second trial will bring? Did you see the same prison surveillance I did of that scumbag flipping off the camera? Did you watch him in the court room smirking and cracking jokes with his attorney while showing absolutely no remorse? Do you know what it's like to have continuous surgeries because we are STILL riddled in shrapnel that he admittedly packed those bombs with?? . . .[Y]ou gave a small victory to a TERRORIST"
She ended the post "Sincerely, A "biased" one legged survivor."
Martin Richard's family did not have a comment but came out against the death penalty in 2015 in an editorial in The Boston Globe.
Former Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis, now a WBZ-TV security analyst, said that while he understands the ruling, "it still hurts."
The court ruled the judge who oversaw Tsarnaev's case did not adequately screen jurors for potential biases.
