Penalty Phase Of Marathon Bombing Trial Underway
BOSTON (CBS) - Assistant US Attorney Nadine Pellegrini wasted no time Tuesday morning in making the case to end Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's life. She started off her opening statement by slowly and clearly saying the words "Unbearable. Indescribable. Inexcusable. Senseless" to describe his crimes.
She went on to tell jurors that Tsarnaev, "was destined and determined to become America's worst nightmare."
The government's job during this second phase of the Boston Marathon Bombing trial is to convince this jury that life in prison without parole isn't enough for the convicted bomber.
Said Pellegrini: "He simply is callous and indifferent to human life. It's his character that makes the death penalty appropriate and just."
To make her case, she offered a photo of Tsarnaev, taken from a holding cell at federal court. In the image from July of 2013, he stands before a surveillance camera and boldly extends his middle finger at the lens.
"Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was and is unrepentant, uncaring, untouched by the havoc and sorrow he has created," Pellegrini said.
That sorrow was very much on display once testimony began and more victims and survivors took the stand. The first person called by the government was Celeste Corcoran, a double amputee who told jurors what it was like at the scene that day two years ago.
"I remember thinking that I wanted to die," she said. "I remember thinking that the pain was too much and I wanted to die."
Corcoran's 19-year-old daughter Sydney was also badly injured. She testified during the trial's first phase.
Gillian Reny, 20, who had sections of both legs blown off, cried heavily on the stand, recalling her staggering pain.
"I was shocked that that much blood could come out of someone," Reny testified. "I felt so weak and I was terrified I was going to die."
Prosecutors promised jurors they would talk about how the victims lived, not just how they died. They began that process by calling the brother and father of Krystle Campbell to share childhood photos and lifelong memories of the young woman killed near Marathon Sports.
William Campbell Jr. was asked to talk about life without his daughter. "I miss my hug everyday," he said. "She never left the house without giving me a hug. I miss that the most."
The defense has opted to postpone its opening statements for this phase of the trial until the prosecution ends its case, likely some time early next week.
