Death Penalty For Boston Marathon Bomber That Injured Bucks Resident, Killed 3

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, responsible for setting bombs off during the 2013 Boston Marathon that killed 3 and injured hundreds, including Doylestown residents, has been sentenced to death, according to federal prosecutors.

Tsarnaev, along with his older brother, committed the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil since the September 11 attacks.

The defense attempted to convince the jury that Tsarnaev had been brainwashed by his older brother, Tamerlan, according to the New York Times, but their arguments were summarily rejected.

Dozens of runners from Bucks and Montgomery Counties ran the Boston Marathon in 2013, including Amy O’Neill, who was injured by the blast and required surgery to remove the shrapnel embedded in her legs.

She said that it was hard to form a concrete opinion about the sentencing on Friday.

“The whole situation is so overwhelmingly emotional,” O’Neill, who works as a psychologist and volunteers with the Red Cross. “I have no idea how I feel about it.”

She said that she has been following the judicial proceedings closely in the news, and that she attended the closing arguments on the Tsarnaev case in the courtroom in Boston.

“It’s just a tragic situation no matter how you look at it,” she said. “He’s a young person.”

O’Neill was injured while competing in the 2013 race, and then returned to run again in 2014 and 2015.

“The whole thing has just been such a whirlwind of emotions,” she said. “When you try to understand exactly what happened, and process it, it’s really personal. It’s hard to have a firm opinion on what’s right or wrong.”

Her time of 3:44:52 in the 2015 race qualifies her to run Boston again next year, which she plans on doing.

“The biggest lesson is that you can’t let something like this change your life,” O’Neill said. “You have to just keep doing what you do.”

Tsnaraev is the first terrorist to be given the death penalty in the United States since 9/11, according to the Federal Death Penalty Resource Counsel Project.

A recent Patch poll found 54 percent of respondents said Tsarnaev deserved the death penalty.

What do you think about the sentence? Should Tsarnaev be put to death? Let us know in the comments.

This is a developing story. Refresh the page for updates as they come in.