Death for the Boston Bomber

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev faces execution if convicted of the Boston Marathon bombings.  Massachusetts has no death penalty, so the United States Department of Justice will try the suspected terrorist.  I’m no fan of our bloated, corrupt Federal government, but they’re right on this one.  If Tsarnaev is found guilty, he deserves nothing less than death.

The mutilated bodies of three victims were located in the wreckage after the attacks.  Krystle Marie Campbell, 29; Lingzi Lu, 23; and Martin Richard, 8, died of horrific injuries.  Just days later, Sean Collier, 27, an MIT police officer, was shot to death in his police cruiser.  Investigators claim that in addition to the bombings, brothers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar killed the campus cop.  (Tamerlan later died during a shootout with police.)

Krystle, 29, a native of Medford, Massachusetts, lived in Arlington at the time of her death.  She was near the finish line with a friend when the first bomb detonated.  An employee of Jasper White Summer Shack restaurants, Krystle managed the catering division.  Her family stated that she worked 70 to 80 hours a week.  Krystle’s grandmother, Lillian, said, “She was so cute.  She was just full of life.  She loved being around people.  She was a people lover, even as a little girl.  She always had a lot of friends around her.  She loved music, and she loved life, Krystle did.  She was always bouncing and always happy.”

There was no reason for Krystle Campbell to die at that moment in time.

Lingzi Lu, 23, was a graduate student at Boston University.  Born in China, Lingzi always dreamed of immigrating to America.  She seemed happy in her adopted country.  Seeking a career in international business, Lingzi had just completed a difficult statistics course and applied for several internships.  She was an only child.

There was no reason for Lingzi Lu to die at that moment in time.

Martin William Richard, 8, became the face of the murder victims.  In the aftermath, Martin’s innocent smile, blown from his lips by a home-made bomb, graced newspapers and television sets across the country.  Every member of Martin’s family suffered extreme injuries and psychological damage from the explosion.  Their child’s brutalized, lifeless body will haunt Martin’s mother and father for life.

There was no reason for Martin Richard to die at that moment in time.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology Police Officer Sean Collier sat in his cruiser when the terrorists allegedly shot him dead.  The popular cop loved the outdoors, and belonged to a hiking club.  A “technological geek,” he fit into the campus culture.  A memorial to his life is currently being erected on the MIT campus.

There was no reason for Sean Collier to die at that moment in time.

In addition to the dead, hundreds suffered horrendous life-changing injuries.

The Tsarnaev brothers had every opportunity America has to offer.  Many people are threatened by freedom, and maybe this was part of their motive.  Or maybe Islamist extremists won’t be satisfied until they’ve destroyed the freedom that makes this country great.  It was said that the brothers had become increasingly radicalized in the year leading up to the attacks.

Whatever the motive, if Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is convicted, death is too good for him.  But it’s all our system has to offer to express our repugnance for the acts that took four innocent lives.