Tsarnaev Jurors Ask Questions During First Full Day Of Deliberations
BOSTON (CBS) - A series of questions from the Boston Marathon bombing jury on Thursday gave Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and his legal team a glimpse into what the dozen people who control his fate are thinking.
And in essence, they're confused.
The 24-page verdict form they have to fill out is complex.
Before they can even consider the death penalty, jurors must agree on a series of thresholds. First, they will vote on four of what are called "Gateway Factors".
Among them: "Dzhokhar Tsarnaev intentionally killed the victim or victims of the particular capital count."
Jurors must say yes to at least one of the gateway factors before moving onto the six "Statutory Aggravating Factors," examples of which are:
"Dzhokhar Tsarnaev intentionally killed and attempted to kill more than one person in a single criminal episode"; "Dzhokhar Tsarnaev committed the offense after substantial planning and premeditation"; and "Dzhokhar Tsarnaev committed the offense in an especially heinous, cruel and depraved manner."
To impose death, jurors must agree to one of those statutory aggravating factors, too.
After that, they must consider the defense's 21 "Mitigating Factors". Those include: "Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's teachers and friends still care for him"; "Dzhokhar Tsarnaev acted under the influence of his older brother"; and "Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's aunts and cousins love and care for him."
The jury will then have to decide how much weight every aggravating and mitigating factor has - a decision they will make based only on their individual opinions - and do a mental calculation that adds up to life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty.
