[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----ALA., NEB., NEV., USA

[Rick Halperin]

May 16



ALABAMA:

Huntsville man who confessed to strangling wife and son has death penalty trial 
set



A Huntsville man facing a possible death sentence in the killings of his wife 
and young son is set to go on trial Feb. 22, 2016.

Madison County Circuit Judge Donna Pate today ordered the trial date for 
Stephen Marc Stone, 35.

Stone is charged with capital murder in the February 2013 strangulation deaths 
of his wife, Krista Stone and their son, 7-year-old Zachary Stone, at the home 
they rented on Chicamauga Trail in south Huntsville.

Pate set the date following a status conference with the parties this morning.

Madison County District Attorney Rob Broussard has said the DA's office will 
seek the death penalty for Stone. Pate also ordered that prosecutors must -- 30 
days before trial - turn over to the defense the "aggravators" the state will 
name in seeking the death penalty for Stone.

Under Alabama law, in a death penalty case, the state has to argue to a jury 
what aggravating factors were involved in the crime to make the death penalty 
the appropriate punishment. Aggravators include the argument that the killing 
was especially heinous and cruel, involved 2 or more victims, involved the 
possibility of deaths many people and was committed during another offense, 
like a burglary.

The judge also ordered that if defense attorneys Brian Clark and Larry Marsili 
hire an outside expert, including one to evaluate Stone's mental condition, 
they must provide prosecutors with any related reports 60 days before trial.

The killings took place early on Feb. 24, 2013. Stone later told police he felt 
as if something had "broken" inside of him before the killings.

During Stone's 2013 preliminary hearing, Huntsville Police Department 
investigator Michael Leftwich described what Stone told him about the killings 
and the circumstances that led him to turn himself in to police in Leeds, where 
his parents lived.

Stone told Leftwich that he and Krista Stone were having a mild argument early 
on Feb. 24 over his failure to be home for a visit from his parents, when he 
decided to strangle her. She did nothing to provoke him, Stone told Leftwich.

After strangling his wife, Stone then went to his son Zachary's room and 
strangled him. Leftwich testified. To ensure he was dead, Stone filled a 
bathtub and drowned the child.

The bodies were found on the couple's bed, with the boy wrapped in towels.

Stone has no criminal history, Leftwich testified, adding there was no history 
of any mental health issues reported by his family.

Stone and his wife both worked at Crestwood Hospital and married a year after 
Krista Stone graduated high school.

Leftwich testified the case began after the Leeds Police Department called 
Huntsville police to report that Stone had come into the Leeds police station 
and told officers that he killed his wife and son. Stone gave Leeds police the 
address, the names of the victims and even described which doors in the house 
were locked.

Police and a HEMSI unit were dispatched and the bodies were found. Stone was 
transported back to Huntsville and gave a voluntary statement to Leftwich that 
the detective said was recorded on video.

Stone told Leftwich that he was confused and something was broken inside of him 
Feb. 23. He spent the day driving around the state, including as far as Troy, 
and skipped a visit to Huntsville from his parents.

Stone described returning late that night and killing his wife and son, 
Leftwich said. The couple had two daughers, who were 4 and 2 and the time. 
Leftwich asked Stone why he didn't hurt the 2 girls.

Stone told him it was unnecessary, after killing Zachary he was "free."

After the killings Stone told Leftwich he took a brief nap, watched TV and in 
the morning when the girls got up, he told them their mother and Zach were 
still resting.

He took the girls to Hardee's for biscuits and then drove down to Leeds. He 
stopped at a Walmart in Leeds and asked a police sergeant for directions to the 
police station.

After reaching his parents' house, Stone said he told his mother he needed to 
go to Walmart to buy the girls' coats since he'd forgotten to bring them. 
Instead he went to the Leeds Police Department. After he began to talk, 
officers there called in their sergeant, the same man who Stone had asked for 
directions at Walmart.

Leftwich said Stone volunteered all the information.

(source: al.com)








NEBRASKA:

Nebraska's death penalty teeters toward repeal as final vote looms in 
Legislature



The possible demise of Nebraska's death penalty is starting to look probable.

Supporters of capital punishment in the State Legislature made an all-out 
effort Friday to block a repeal bill. After a difficult 4-hour debate, they 
failed.

They will get another chance to derail the legislation in the third round and, 
if it passes, after a gubernatorial veto. But Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha, who 
has made abolishing capital punishment the paramount issue of his long 
legislative career, paused to reflect on the moment.

"It is not the last step, but I think it is one of historical importance," he 
said. "And when something of historical significance occurs, it is not the work 
of a single individual."

News that the state will soon have the drugs to carry out executions again 
failed to deter a Legislature seemingly intent on ending the punishment.

Lawmakers voted 34-14 - 1 more vote than was needed - to cut off a filibuster 
of the repeal bill.

They followed up with a 30-16 vote to advance Legislative Bill 268 to the third 
round of debate. The bill advanced with the same number of votes needed to 
override a veto.

Capital punishment supporters vowed to orchestrate another filibuster during 
the final round of consideration.

"This may be the preeminent issue, in my view, that we face as a Legislature," 
said Sen. Beau McCoy, a leading defender of the death penalty.

Gov. Pete Ricketts said the movement to replace capital punishment with life in 
prison was "out of touch" with Nebraskans he talks with on the issue.

"The Legislature's vote to advance Ernie Chambers' repeal of the death penalty 
puts the safety of the public and Nebraska families at risk," the governor 
said.

Following a somber and mostly respectful discussion that reflected the gravity 
of the topic, death penalty supporters dropped the gloves and came out 
swinging. Sen. Bill Kintner of Papillion fumed after the votes were taken.

"I don't want to talk about the spineless wimps I serve with," he said. "I'm 
livid, absolutely livid."

Others accused their colleagues of vote trading, saying such gamesmanship was 
unseemly with such an important issue.

"I can understand when people trade a vote on a bill that doesn't have such 
serious consequences as this," said Sen. Dave Schnoor of Scribner. "But where 
do you draw the line?"

Among those suspected of cutting deals was Sen. Jim Smith, whose gas-tax bill 
survived thanks to a veto override Thursday. The Papillion Republican joined 
repeal supporters in voting to cut off debate, but when it came to advancing 
the bill, Smith voted "no."

Smith denied the accusation, saying he voted as he did because he felt the 
issue deserved an up-or-down vote. And he said he trusts that his fellow 
senators have their reasons for voting the way they do.

"I think unfortunately too many people are watching 'House of Cards' and think 
that's how things operate around here," Smith said, referring to a popular TV 
series of political intrigue set in the nation's capital.

Vote-trading accusations also were leveled at Chambers upon hearing he planned 
not to attack a bill that would legalize cash poker tournaments in Nebraska. 
Chambers, a longtime foe of gambling, acknowledged that he planned not to stand 
in the way of the bill, but said he did so for reasons unrelated to his repeal 
measure.

Chambers said he thinks legal poker would not survive a constitutional 
challenge that would surely come if it passes. And it would provide a way to 
give a "poke in the eye" to McCoy, a staunch gambling opponent with whom 
Chambers frequently spars on other issues.

Not since 1979 have Nebraska lawmakers voted to repeal capital punishment. The 
death penalty survived then after a failed attempt to override the veto of Gov. 
Charles Thone.

A veto override now seems more within reach, which explains why death penalty 
supporters took the offensive in Friday's debate.

McCoy brought up examples of "the unspeakable crimes of atrocity against 
innocent Nebraskans." He mentioned the recent homicides of an Omaha mother and 
one of her children, asking his colleagues to consider the terror a 4-year-old 
boy felt when he was thrown alive into the Elkhorn River.

McCoy said he has a 4-year-old child of his own.

"Can you imagine what that must be like, to have your older brother do that to 
you after having watched him beat your mother to death and leave your younger 
brother in a dumpster," McCoy asked.

Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine intends to seek the death penalty against 
the mother's older son.

Sen. Dave Bloomfield brought up the recent riot at the state prison in 
Tecumseh, in which two inmates were killed, apparently by other inmates. 
Bloomfield argued that without the death penalty, inmates serving life terms 
may think they have nothing to lose, making them more of a threat to other 
inmates and prison employees.

McCoy introduced an amendment to let voters decide the fate of the death 
penalty. The amendment failed 25-18.

Repeal supporters said the death penalty is applied arbitrarily, doesn't deter 
crime, costs more than life in prison and risks taking the lives of the 
wrongfully convicted.

"We are in fact ... fallen human beings, and there are ways our system is 
falling and failing," said Sen. Kate Bolz of Lincoln.

Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks of Lincoln said capital punishment just seems 
inherently illogical to her.

"Killing people to teach people not to kill people," she said. "What a twisted 
view of justice."

The governor added another dimension to the debate Thursday night when he 
announced the state has made purchases to restock its supply of lethal 
injection drugs. During first-round debate, some argued it was pointless to 
keep an unenforceable punishment on the books.

The state paid $54,400 to purchase sodium thiopental and pancuronium bromide 
from HarrisPharma, a distributor in India, according to invoices released 
Friday by the governor's office. The State Department of Correctional Services 
has an unexpired supply of the third drug, potassium chloride.

Sen. Jerry Johnson of Wahoo said news that the state had secured the lethal 
drugs caused him to reconsider his earlier support for the repeal bill. But 
when it came time, he voted to advance the legislation.

Chambers accused the governor of timing the announcement about the drugs in an 
effort to influence the outcome. He called it "disingenuous and the lowest form 
of political chicanery."

Taylor Gage, the governor's spokesman, said the information was released to the 
public on the same day the state made the final payment for the drugs. The 
shipment has yet to arrive in Nebraska, he added.

3 of the state's 11 inmates on death row have exhausted their appeals, 
according to Attorney General Doug Peterson. But that doesn't mean 1 of the 3 
will be strapped on the lethal injection table as soon as the drugs arrive, 
death penalty opponents argued.

Attorneys for the condemned men have several possible legal avenues to pursue, 
said Eric Berger, an associate professor at the University of Nebraska College 
of Law who has written extensively about lethal injection.

For example, they could raise questions about whether the drugs received 
approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or whether they were made by 
a pharmaceutical manufacturer or by a compounding pharmacy. The quality and 
effectiveness of drugs can vary widely depending upon how they were produced, 
Berger said.

State officials intend to have the drugs independently tested for purity upon 
their arrival. But Berger said the individual ingredients in the compounds may 
have to be tested as well.

"The state can and will still be subject to a lot of litigation about the 
constitutionality of the lethal injection procedure," he said.

(source: omaha.com)

*************

Governor's office offers more information on death penalty drugs



Gov. Pete Ricketts' and Attorney General Doug Peterson's offices provided more 
information Friday on the purchase of 3 drugs needed to carry out Nebraska's 
lethal injection death penalty.

Ricketts and Department of Correctional Services Director Scott Frakes 
announced late Thursday the state has 1 of the 3 drugs in its possession, 
potassium chloride, which stops the heart, and will receive the other 2 in the 
near future.

Sodium thiopental, used to knock out the inmate, and pancuronium bromide, used 
to cause paralysis, were ordered from Harris Pharma, a company that has 
supplied the drug in the past. The drugs are being imported from outside the 
country, said Ricketts' spokesman Taylor Gage.

The state has potassium chloride in stock in the Correction Department's 
central pharmacy, Gage said.

It has ordered 1,000 vials of 1 gram each of sodium thiopental at a cost of $25 
per vial; and 1,000 ampules of 2 mg/2 ml each of pancuronium bromide at $26 per 
ampule.

The order is expected to be delivered soon, Gage said. The drugs would expire 3 
years from the date of manufacture.

Questions have come from senators and others outside the statehouse on how the 
state is able to order the drugs, in particular sodium thiopental, when there 
have been major problems with procuring the drug in the past.

On Friday, the ACLU of Nebraska filed an open records request to determine if 
the state's recent acquisition of drugs to be used in lethal injection was 
lawful.

A 2013 federal circuit court ruling determined lethal injection drugs are 
subject to U.S. Food and Drug Administration oversight and importation rules 
and that states must obtain such drugs legally through licensed, inspected 
dealers.

The sodium thiopental and pancuronium bromide were ordered from Harris Pharma, 
Ricketts said Thursday. Harris Pharma has previously sold drugs to Nebraska 
that the state was unable to use.

In March 2012, a federal district court held that foreign-manufactured sodium 
thiopental was improperly approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use 
in executions, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

Judge Richard Leon of the District Court of the District of Columbia ordered 
any correctional departments in possession of the drug to return it to the FDA. 
The safety and effectiveness of the drug was questioned in a lawsuit by death 
row inmates in several states.

Peterson said his office is aware of the court case, which was later appealed 
to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. The D.C. Circuit Court affirmed in part 
and reversed in part.

Nebraska was not a party to the case, he said.

"No orders or findings were made that our Corrections Department violated any 
laws in its prior acquisition of the drug," Peterson said.

"The case involved the Federal Food and Drug Administration???s interpretation 
of and compliance with federal rules and federal laws on importation of drugs 
from outside the county."

(source: Lincoln Journal Star)








NEVADA----death sentence overturned

Court overturns death sentence in Las Vegas slaying



A federal appeals court has overturned the death penalty for Billy Ray Riley, 
convicted in Las Vegas of the shotgun killing of a reputed drug dealer.

But Riley is not getting out of prison, because he is also serving a life term 
without parole for robbery and being a habitual criminal.

The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals said today there was a faulty 
instruction given to the jury at Riley's 1990 trial.

The court will grant the writ of habeas corpus unless the state pursues a new 
trial "within a reasonable amount of time."

Riley, 29 at the time of his conviction, used a shotgun to kill Albert Bollin, 
26, and then stole cocaine and money from the victim, according to court 
documents. According to trial testimony, Bollin was told he was going to die 
and asked that he be allowed to have one last cocaine hit.

After Bollin put down the pipe, he told Riley he was ready to die; Riley then 
shot him, according to court records.

(source: Las Vegas Sun)








USA:

'No winner today:' Survivors, lawmakers react to Boston bomber's death sentence



Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been sentenced to death for carrying out the 2013 Boston 
Marathon bombings and reactions have been pouring in from all over the US. Some 
believe the penalty is appropriate while others argue capital punishment is 
never justified.

Tsarnaev, a 21-year-old ethnic Chechen, was found guilty in April of all 30 
charges he faced, 17 of which were eligible for the death penalty. On Friday, 
he was sentenced to death for some - but not all - of the capital charges.

This marks the 1st time that federal prosecutors have been able to win a death 
penalty verdict since after the September 11, 2001 attacks.

The same jury of 7 women and 5 men who condemned Tsarnaev for the crimes was 
also responsible for deciding his punishment. Upon hearing his fate, Tsarnaev 
reportedly had no visible reaction in the courtroom.

Speaking outside the courthouse, the prosecution's lead US attorney, Carmen 
Ortiz, said her team's goal was to present enough evidence for the jury to 
reach "a fair and just verdict."

"Even in the wake of horror and tragedy, we are not intimidated by acts of 
terror or radical ideals. On the contrary, the trial of this case has showcased 
an important American ideal that even the worst of the worst deserve a fair 
trial and due process of law."

Shortly after the verdict was rendered, US Attorney General Loretta Lynch 
called the death sentence "a fitting punishment."

"We know all too well that no verdict can heal the souls of those who lost 
loved ones, nor the minds and bodies of those who suffered life-changing 
injuries from this cowardly attack," she said in a statement. "But the ultimate 
penalty is a fitting punishment for this horrific crime and we hope that the 
completion of this prosecution will bring some measure of closure to the 
victims and their families."

Ortiz said the prosecution did not decide to pursue the death penalty 
"lightly," but only after a long internal process at the Justice Department.

"Today is not a day for celebration," she said. "It is not a day for political 
or moral debate. It is a day for reflection and healing. Our thoughts should 
now turn away from the Tsarnaev brothers for good and remain with those who 
will live in our memories forever."

Upon hearing the sentence from an Associated Press reporter, Tsarnaev's father, 
Anzor, reportedly "groaned" and "moaned deeply" before hanging up the phone.

However, he told ABC News that "We will fight. We will fight. We will fight 
until the end."

Multiple Boston Marathon survivors reacted with relief at the news, saying the 
penalty helps give them closure and the ability to move on.

(source: rt.com)

***********************

Amnesty International USA Responds to Death Penalty in Boston Bombing Case



In response to the announcement that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was sentenced to death 
after being convicted in the Boston Marathon bombings, Steven W. Hawkins, 
executive director of Amnesty International USA issued the following statement:

"We condemn the bombings that took place in Boston 2 years ago, and we mourn 
the loss of life and grave injuries they caused. The death penalty, however, is 
not justice. It will only compound the violence, and it will not deter others 
from committing similar crimes in the future.

It is outrageous that the federal government imposes this cruel and inhuman 
punishment, particularly when the people of Massachusetts have abolished it in 
their state. As death sentences decline worldwide, no government can claim to 
be a leader in human rights when it sentences its prisoners to death."

Amnesty International has documented a steady decline in the use of the death 
penalty in the United States and around the world over the past several years, 
though in 2014 there was a marked increase in death sentences to address a real 
or perceived threat of terrorism especially in Egypt and Nigeria. There remains 
no evidence showing that the death penalty deters crime or has any effect in 
reducing terrorism.

Annual death sentences in the U.S. have declined since 2000. In the last 8 
years the number of death sentences has been lower than any time since 
reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976. In 2014 there were 72 death 
sentences, the lowest number on record since 1976. Executions have declined as 
well, from a high of 98 in 1999 to just 35 in 2014, the lowest in 20 years; 
there were 43 executions in 2011 and 2012 and 39 in 2013.

Amnesty International USA opposes the death penalty in all cases without 
exception as the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. As of today, 
140 countries have abolished the death penalty in law or practice. The U.S. was 
1 of only 9 countries in the world that carried out executions each year 
between 2009 and 2013.

(source: Amnesty International USA)

*****************

Northampton attorneys David Hoose and Harry Miles react to Tsarnaev death 
sentence



Attorney David Hoose, one of a few Massachusetts lawyers who have tried death 
penalty cases, said Friday he was disappointed not only by the verdict jurors 
delivered in the trial of Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, but also 
with their quick deliberation.

"I really thought they would take much longer," he said. "I think one could 
conclude that there was a pretty strong sentiment that death was the 
appropriate sentence right from the start."

The jury delivered the sentence Friday afternoon after deliberating for 14 
hours.

Hoose said it is clear that the jurors were affected by the hours of testimony 
from Tsarnaev's victims, including those who lost limbs and children at the 
Boston Marathon bombing.

"It really sort of makes me look at victim-impact evidence and the role passion 
and emotion has in capital cases. Passion and emotion is not supposed to be 
part of criminal justice system," he said.

Hoose and Northampton attorney Harry Miles defended Kristen Gilbert, the former 
nurse convicted in 1998 of murder for killing 4 patients at the U.S. Department 
of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Leeds. The jury in that case decided 
against the death penalty, and sentenced Gilbert instead to life in prison 
without possibility of parole.

In an interview Wednesday, Hoose predicted that at least 1 or 2 jurors would 
hold out, preventing the unanimous vote necessary to sentence Tsarnaev to die.

He cited a recent Boston Globe poll that found 2 out of 3 people polled in 
Boston were against the death penalty and opposed sentencing Tsarnaev to die. 
But in order to be eligible to serve on the jury, Hoose said potential jurors 
had to swear that they were not opposed to capital punishment.

"You have 12 people who do favor" the death penalty, Hoose said of the jury's 
decision, explaining, "either because it was warranted by the evidence, or the 
jury does not effectively represent Massachusetts."

Jurors in a capital murder case have to fill out a questionnaire showing the 
judge how they feel about the facts of the case and any mitigating or 
aggravating factors. The jurors only have to be unanimous on whether the crimes 
warrant death, but their votes on the mitigating and aggravating factors show 
whether they believed various things the defense or prosecution tried to prove.

Hoose said he was surprised to see that only 3 jurors found that Tsarnaev's 
older brother's influence was a mitigating factor.

"That was the most disappointing part for me because I thought the defense had 
presented a very compelling case that he was controlled by his brother," Hoose 
said. He went on to describe Tamerlan Tsarnaev as violent, radicalized and 
possibly mentally ill.

Hoose said he was not surprised to see that only 2 jurors believed Dzhokhar 
Tsarnaev was remorseful.

Reporters in the courtroom reported that a few jurors wiped away tears as the 
sentence was read. "In a case that's gone on for so long, there is just a sense 
of mental exhaustion probably combined with the thought that they played a role 
in someone's death. Each of those jurors has to live with that," Hoose said.

Miles seconded the sentiment. "I don't know if the government will provide them 
with any therapeutic services, but the government should," he said.

"It always saddens me when the death penalty is imposed," Miles said. "But if 
you're going to talk about a poster boy for the death penalty, he definitely 
fit that category."

(source: Daily Hampshire Gazette)

***************

Boston divided by bomber death penalty----Boston marathon bomber Dzhokhar 
Tsarnaev has been sentenced to death for his role in the 2013 attacks in which 
3 people died and another 264 were injured. The ruling has received mixed 
reactions in the US city.



Jurors said on Friday that Tsarnaev had committed 11 of the 12 aggravating 
factors which supported a sentence of capital punishment, including choosing to 
carry out the attack at a popular event sure to draw large crowds.

The only factor they said prosecutors had not proven was that statements made 
by Tsarnaev suggested to others that acts of violence against the US would be 
justifiable.

The 21-year-old was found guilty of all 30 charges relating to the bombings on 
April 8. Among the counts were the murder of a police officer, a carjacking, 
and a shootout.

Divided opinon

In Boston, Tsarnaev's death sentence has been met with mixed reactions. US 
Attorney General Loretta Lynch welcomed the decision saying that "the ultimate 
penalty is a fitting punishment for this horrific crime."

The parents of Martin Richard, at 8-years-old the youngest victim of the 
attacks, have openly opposed the death penalty, however, saying the years of 
appeals to follow would prolong their pain.

Similarly, on the streets of Boston, Virtue Grizzle of California told DW that 
the jury's decision was "too good" for Tsarnaev.

"I think he should live out his life to be 105 - why put him to death now? 
That's what he is looking for. They should give him a life in prison, let him 
live the rest of his life to think about what he has done, it was terrible, 
absolutely unacceptable," the pensioner said.

25-year-old Samantha Rosa, was in full support of Tsarnaev's death sentence.

"I don't want say an eye for an eye because that will make the world blind, but 
he made his bed and now he has to lie in it ... He was old enough to know the 
consequences of his actions and therefore I'm on the side of the American 
government putting him to death," she told DW.

Remorseless terrorist or led astray?

Witnesses inside the courtroom on Friday reported that Tsarnaev did not react 
upon hearing the decision.

Tsarnaev and his elder brother Tamerlan killed 3 people in the bombings on 
April 15, 2013. Another 264 people were wounded - 17 of whom lost limbs.

After going on the run, the Tsarnaev brothers killed a police officer at the 
Massachusetts Institute of Technology and stole a car. A city-wide manhunt 
later ended in a shootout during which Tamerlan was killed.

Throughout the trial, Tsarnaev's defense focused on labeling Tamerlan as the 
mastermind behind the attacks, saying Dzhokhar was a "lost kid" who had been 
manipulated by his older brother into committing a "heinous crime."

Ultimately, however, government prosecutors maintained that Tsarnaev was a 
remorseless terrorist whose actions deserved capital punishment. Only three of 
the 12 jury members found that he would not have committed the crime without 
the influence of his brother.

(source: Deutsche Welle)

****************************

O'Malley Calls Death Penalty 'Ineffective'



Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley says he respects the verdict of the jury 
in the Boston Marathon bombing case but remains opposed to the death penalty 
and considers it "ineffective."

The potential Democratic presidential candidate says in a statement Friday that 
he hopes Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev never enjoys a "moment of 
freedom." Tsarnaev was sentenced Friday to death for the April 2013 bombing.

O'Malley says the death penalty's appeals process is "expensive and cruel to 
the surviving family members."

He says most of the public executions around the globe are conducted by North 
Korea, Iran, Iraq, Yemen, China and the United States and that the U.S. "does 
not belong in that company."

As governor, O'Malley led the push to repeal the death penalty in Maryland.

(source: Associated Press)

******************

Governor Baker speaks about death penalty verdict----Baker said he hoped it 
would bring closure to victims and their families



Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker spoke about the death penalty verdict 
today. He referred to the marathon bombings as an act of terrorism.

Baker said he hoped it would bring closure to victims and their families, 
although he knows the horrific attacks have changed the city of Boston forever.

Governor Baker said, "I think every time everybody runs the marathon and 
participates in the marathon, it will be impossible for this to be too far from 
the top of people???s minds..."

Previously Governor Baker said he supported the death penalty for Dzokjar 
Tsarnaev, although today he said it's not his opinion that matters.

(source: WWLP news)