The prosecution in the death penalty phase of the trial for convicted Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev wrapped up its case on Thursday.
The Associated Press noted that prosecutors ended on a note of the horror that day with video of the youngest bombing victim Martin Richard, 8, dying on the sidewalk while his mother screamed.
Steve Woolfenden, who was the last of the prosecution’s witnesses, recounted what he heard when he fell to the ground with his injury near the dying child.
"I heard 'please' and 'Martin' being uttered by Denise Richard," Woolfenden said softly while choking back tears. "I saw Martin's face. I could see a boy that was, looked like he was fatally injured."
The prosecution did its job with such impactful testimony. And, since the jury knows that Richard bled to death on that sidewalk, the state hopes that the testimony and images will resonate in the jurors’ minds when they decide whether Tsaenaev should live or die.
As previously reported, the 21-year-old was convicted of all 30 counts against him relating to the bombing two years ago. He was caught on camera placing a backpack with one of the explosives near the 8-year-old boy. In addition to Richard, two other people were killed in the blast and more than 260 others were injured.
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