Judy Clarke, the defense attorney for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, stood on the first day of the Boston bombing trial, and immediately conceded that Tsarnaev was guilty.
That's not exactly a common move among defense attorneys, but Clarke and her team aren't trying to set the 21-year-old free. They just don't want him to die at the hands of the government.
Tsarnaev is on trial for allegedly working with his older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, to set off two bombs at the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon, which killed three people and injured more than 260 others. The brothers avoided capture until Tamerlan was killed following a shootout with law enforcement four days later, after which an intensified manhunt led to Tsarnaev's capture.
Clarke said their alleged crimes are "inexcusable." But she also said the genesis of those crimes did not come from Tsarnaev, and that Tamerlan took the lead on a subsequent alleged carjacking and killing of an MIT police officer, which led to the shootout. She is working to help Tsarnaev avoid the death penalty.
"If was Tamerlan #Tsarnaev who self-radicalized. It was #Dzhokhar who followed him."— Jared Pliner (@JaredPliner) March 4, 2015
Clarke: Tamerlan bought, ammo, backpacks, led the way down Boylston Street, killed Collier, did the carjacking #Tsarnaev— Jared Pliner (@JaredPliner) March 4, 2015
While Tamerlan was immersed in death and destruction overseas, #Dzhokhar was online on FB, concerning himself with cars, girls #Tsarnaev— Jared Pliner (@JaredPliner) March 4, 2015
The prosecution seemed prepared for the defense's argument against giving Tsarnaev the death penalty.
Assistant United States Attorney William Weinreb argued that Tsarnaev simply kept his alleged radical views quiet. He read "terrorist writings" and watched radical lectures, but didn't tell his friends, Weinreb said, according to the Boston Globe.
U.S. District Judge George O'Toole Jr. also seemed unmoved by the defense's argument, as Clarke was giving her opening statement.
Judge cuts off Clarke talking about presenting evidence of brother's influence: "Very limited evidence of that, but go ahead." #Tsarnaev— Jared Pliner (@JaredPliner) March 4, 2015
Tsarnaev is facing 30 charges in Boston's U.S. District Court, 17 of which may warrant the death penalty. The jury will have to make two decisions in two separate trials. First, they must decide whether Tsarnaev is guilty. Then it will decide his punishment.