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Loretta Lynch Speaks Out On The Tsarnaev Verdict

by Jenny Hollander

On Friday, the same jurors who'd convicted Dzhokhar Tsarnaev of every single charge brought against him sentenced the only living Boston bomber to the death penalty. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, who was appointed to the role last month, was swift to speak about the sentence, promptly issuing a press statement that called the death penalty a "fitting punishment" for his crimes. The sentence is one of Lynch's first major milestones as AG, following the Baltimore riots that marked her first major case.

"Dzhokhar Tsarnaev coldly and callously perpetuated a terrorist attack that injured hundreds of Americans and ultimately took the lives of three individuals," the statement began, going on to say that "the ultimate penalty is a fitting punishment for this horrific crime." She added:

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. 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.