Yesterday, a jury in the trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev convicted him of 30 counts, including his role in the bombing, using a weapon of mass destruction and the murder of four people, including the shooting death of an MIT police officer three days after the attack. Survivors in the bombing said they were relieved by the verdict, that it's not a happy occasion, but one that brings them a step closer to closure. Next in Tsarnaev's trial is the penalty phase, when the jury will once again hear arguments from both sides and then decide whether he gets the death penalty.

 

It's been nearly two years since a terrorist attack rocked the finish line of the iconic Boston Marathon and shook the city to the core. Now, after a month of testimony from dozens of witnesses, the vast majority for the prosecution, a federal jury has reached a decision. But it's their next move that will mean life or death for 21-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Tsarnaev faced 30 federal charges related to the events of April 15, 2013, when two pressure cooker bombs exploded near the marathon's finish line, killing three people and injuring about 260 and the days' long manhunt that followed. 

 

With the death penalty attached to 17 of those charges, attorneys mounting Tsarnaev's defense focused less on guilt or innocence but more on his degree of involvement. The defense sought to portray Tsarnaev as a college student influenced and manipulated by a radicalized older brother, 26-year-old Tamerlan, who was killed in a shootout with police days after the bombing.

 

But the prosecution argued the younger Tsarnaev was a willing partner in the attacks and helped choose a day when people would crowd Boston's streets.

 

The same jury will deliberate Tsarnaev's sentence, life in prison without parole or death. The jury must vote unanimously for a death sentence.

 

In Boston, I'm Chris Welch.