Ask Federal penalty of death against the bomber accused Boston Tsarnaev

FBI via Reuters

Suspect in bombing of Marathon Boston Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, is pictured in a photo without date of alms from the FBI.

By Pete Williams, NBC News correspondent justice

The Justice Department has notified a federal judge he intends to seek the death penalty if a jury convicted Dzhokhar Tsarnaev of bombings last April at the Boston Marathon.

Tsarnaev is awaiting trial on charges that he and his brother built and put two pumps of pot to pressure that killed three people and injured at least 260 people. He is also accused of killing a police officer in the MIT campus.

Liz Norden, the mother of Boston bombing victims, responding to the news that the Justice Department will seek the death penalty against Dzhokhar Tsarnaev if they condemn it.

Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement: "after consideration of the relevant facts, applicable standards and the proposals made by the counsel for the accused, have determined that United States will seek the death penalty in this case. The nature of the conduct in question and the damage forcing this decision."

Among the factors listed by the Government were that the murders were intentional, as a result of acts calculated to cause severe risks to public safety and were committed in a cruel manner. And prosecutors said that the defendant has not demonstrated any remorse.

"One way or another, based on the evidence, Tsarnaev to die in jail," Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick said in a statement. "At every milestone of this case - the announcement of today, judgment, and every other important step in the process of Justice - people hurt by the bombing of Marathon and the rest of us as surprised by what will relive this tragedy." The best thing we can do is to remind one that we are a community that is stronger than ever, and that nothing can break that spirit."

Liz Norden, the mother of two men who lost her legs in the attack, praised the decision.

"You know, it makes me feel relieved that the Attorney general believes that it was a terrorist attack or the death penalty, and we support the decision," said Norden Craig Melvin of MSNBC.

He said officials of the Department of Justice spoke with relatives of the victims before making the decision.

While most legal experts predicted that the Justice Department would seek the death penalty, the decision will be somewhat controversial.

A survey conducted in September by the Boston Globe found that 57 percent of respondents favored a sentence of life without parole if Tsarnaev should be condemned, while 33 percent believed that death would be appropriate for the Government to seek punishment.

Dan Lampariello / Reuters

Explosion in the Boston Marathon, on April 15, 2013.

The executions in the federal system are rare.  In the modern era of the death penalty, since the United States Supreme Court forced a change in sentencing laws in the mid-1970s, the federal Government has carried out three executions.

Timothy McVeigh was sentenced to death in 2001 for his role in the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City in 1995. The most recent federal execution was more than one decade ago.

The federal system has placed on hold by a battle in court the combination of drugs used to administer a lethal injection. One of the drugs is no longer available, forcing the Bureau of prisons to consider alternatives.

In the event of a conviction and a recommendation of a death sentence, the execution by lethal injection would be held in a federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana

A trial date has not been established for Tsarnaev. His next hearing is on February 12.

Legal experts have said seeking the death penalty against Tsarnaev could give an incentive to plead guilty to avoid the death penalty.

This story was originally posted on Thu January 30, 2014 3:21 PM EST

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