Faces verdict on capital punishment.
By Raif Karerat
WASHINGTON, DC: A Boston jury found 21-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev guilty on all counts related to the 2013 bombings of the Boston Marathon that killed three people and wounded 264 others.
The convictions ranged from carjacking to using a weapon of mass destruction resulting in death, according to NPR. Of the 30 counts Tsarnaev was found guilty of, 17 carry the death penalty.
Tsarnaev, 21, who prosecutors described as a self-radicalized Muslim bent on striking a blow against America per the Boston Globe, must now face a second phase of his trial during which a jury will decide whether or not he will be sentenced to death. The second phase begins next week.
Tsarnaev and his deceased older brother, Tamerlan, planted two bombs at the famous race on the afternoon of April 15, 2013. Tsarnaev was also convicted of murdering an MIT police officer several days after the bombing and then engaging in a firefight with police.
To cement their case, the prosecution used computer searches to show both brothers were steeped in jihadist writings and lectures, reported CNN.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Aloke Chakravarty also underscored a manifesto Tsarnaev had scrawled on the side of the boat he had holed up in during the massive manhunt to find him was launched.
Some key portions as gleaned by CNN:
“I am jealous of my brother who has received the reward of (paradise.) … I do not mourn because his soul is very much alive. God has a plan for each person. Mine was to hide in this boat and shed some light on our actions.”
He asked God to make him a martyr so he could “be among all the righteous people in the highest levels of heaven.”
Then he lashed out against America: “The U.S. government is killing our innocent civilians, but most of you already know that. As a Muslim, I can’t stand to see such evil go unpunished. We Muslims are one body. You hurt one, you hurt us all.”
He wrote that the Muslim nation is beginning to rise, along with the soldiers of the holy war. “Know that you are fighting men who look into the barrel of your gun and see heaven. Now, how can you compete with that? We are promised victory and we will surely get it. Now I don’t like killing innocent people. It is forbidden in Islam. But due to (bullet hole), it is allowed.”
He was not yet finished. He carved another message into a wooden slat inside the boat: “Stop killing our people and we will stop.”
 The jury of seven women and five men deliberated for just over 11 hours before rendering its verdict after hearing the lawyers’ closing arguments early Monday.
“I hope today’s verdict provides a small amount of closure for the survivors, families, and all impacted by the violent and tragic events surrounding the 2013 Boston Marathon,” said Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh, who succeeded the late mayor Thomas M. Menino, who led the city during the Marathon attack.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xiXroQp8t4