The Inspirational Family Of Martin Richard

The family of the youngest Boston Marathon bombing victim, Martin Richard, has been mostly private about the ordeal their family has been through over the past two years. Martin was 8 years old when he was killed by a bomb dropped near his family, who were standing on Boylston Street near the finish line of the marathon in 2013. Martin's sister Jane, who was 7 at the time, lost one of her legs in the explosion, and both of their parents were injured as well. More than 200 people were injured, and Martin and three others lost their lives in the bombing and subsequent hunt for the perpetrators. But last week Bill and Denise Richard, Martin's parents, said they didn't want the death penalty for the man convicted in the murder of their middle child. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, they wrote in a front-page editorial in The Boston Globe , should spend the rest of his life in prison. The endless appeals of a death sentence would only keep the wounds fresh, for them, the Richard family said:

... the continued pursuit of that punishment could bring years of appeals and prolong reliving the most painful day of our lives.

With Boston gearing up for the 2015 Marathon on Monday, the Richard family appears to be trying to go about returning their lives to something resembling normal. It can't be easy for this family, who have become symbols of strength and courage in the face of unspeakable tragedy, to know that their son's death is now part of a public mourning ceremony in Boston, but they have continued to inspire.

Jane Richard, in particular, has become a shining star, showing her support for older brother Henry when he ran a relay race on Saturday in Martin's memory.

There was not a dry eye in the house when Jane led a group from her school to sing the national anthem at the Red Sox home opener on April 13.

Henry was there, too.

The best photos of Jane, though, are the ones where you can see her being a little girl who is just having fun. Last week, she and her family visited a fire station not far from the scene of the bombing with the mayor of Boston, to mark "One Boston Day," the Globe reported.

Jane Richard is going to be an amazing woman.