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

Some survivors of the Boston Marathon support death penalty decision

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.

By Miranda Leitsinger, writer, NBC News

The decision of the federal Government to seek the death penalty against the man accused of setting off two bombs with his brother in the Boston Marathon last year, killing three people and injuring other 275, was received with support on Thursday for some survivors and their families, but also let others, who continue to recover, in a "loss for words".

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is awaiting trial on charges that he and his brother, Tamerlane, built and put the pot pressure pumps at the finish line of the Marathon on April 15. Tamerlane died in the subsequent Chase for the pair.

Liz Norden, whose children Paul and J.P. both lost a leg in the bombing, said he made the decision, announced by Attorney General Eric Holder.

"I felt that it was very important that all options are on the table for the members of the jury decide, so I support him," said MSNBC.

But Rebeca Gregory, aged 26, who wounded seriously in the attack along with her son, her boyfriend and her sister, told NBC News that he was a "loss for words" by the decision.

Gregory, of Richmond, Texas, has been struggling to keep his left leg since the attack.

"I don't know how I feel on the matter. We have not tried to participate in it as much as possible because I feel that it has already taken enough of our time as it is. I don't know what is justice in this situation. No matter if you are alive or dead, that changes nothing for us,"he said, adding later:"He will get his trial on the day of the trial, that's what I feel".

Norden said that their children had declined to meet with the Justice Department about the attacks last summer.

"Their sole focus and main focus was in his recovery." They do not feel that you whatever pass is going to change what happened,"she said, noting that"come to terms"with what happened and"later".

"Fully pursue themselves ever better", said. "They are very strong."

Martin Richard, 8, Krystle Campbell, 29 and China national Lu Lingzi, 23, were killed in the attacks. Tsarnaev is also accused of the shooting death of the MIT campus police, Sean Collier, 27 official.

The family of a Richard spokesman said that the family did not want to comment. Messages seeking reaction of several survivors of the left were not immediately returned.

Among the factors listed by the Government in its decision were the killings 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.

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

The ACLU of Massachusetts, said was "disappointed" with the decision.

Executive Director of the group, Carol Rose, "The ACLU opposes the death penalty in all cases, because it is discriminatory and arbitrary, and because it inherently violates the constitutional prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment", said in a statement.

"In this case, it is important to note that the people of Massachusetts, through their elected representatives, repeatedly has rejected the death penalty. Even shortly after the Boston Marathon horrible attack, a survey by the Boston Globe found that Boston people said that they would prefer a sentence of life without freedom conditional for Tsarnaev, two-to-one if they condemn him".

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.

NBC News Pete Williams contributed to this report.

Ohio must recognize gay marriages on death certificates: Judge

   Glenn Hartong / Cincinnati Enquirer via AP fileJim Obergefell, left and John Arthur, right, are married by officiant Paulette Roberts, rear center, in a plane on the tarmac at Baltimore/Washington International Airport in Glen Burnie, Md., in July.By Miranda Leitsinger, Staff Writer, NBC NewsA federal judge ruled on Monday that Ohio must acknowledge same-sex marriages on death certificates and went further in his decision to say that lower courts were now applying the recent historic Supreme Court decision striking down the federal ban on recognition of such unions.The decision came just hours before a federal judge in Utah denied a stay to his earlier ruling knocking down that state’s same-sex marriage ban, saying it denied gay couples equal protection under the U.S. Constitution. That ruling also relied heavily on the Supreme Court case, which struck down Section 3 of DOMA, or the 1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act, in June.“This conclusion flows from the Windsor (DOMA) decision of the United States Supreme Court this past summer, which held that the federal government cannot refuse to recognize a valid same-sex marriage,” wrote Judge Timothy S. Black of the US District Court of the Southern District of Ohio, who was nominated to the post by President Barack Obama.“And now it is just as Justice (Antonin) Scalia predicted,” he continued, of the question posed by one of the Supreme Court justices on how far the DOMA decision would reach. “The lower courts are applying the Supreme Court’s decision, as they must, and the question is presented whether a state can do what the federal government cannot – i.e., discriminate against same-sex couples … simply because the majority of the voters don’t like homosexuality (or at least didn’t in 2004). Under the Constitution of the United States, the answer is no.”He added: "Once you get married lawfully in one state, another state cannot summarily take your marriage away."The Ohio case was brought by attorneys for a longtime Cincinnati couple, James Obergefell and John Arthur, whose July 11, 2013 wedding on a tarmac in Maryland — where gay marriage is legal — made international headlines.Arthur, who was suffering from ALS, died on Oct. 22. That was when the marriage of the couple, who had been together since 1992, was ordered recognized by the court on Arthur’s death certificate.In recent months, four states have recognized same-sex marriage, bringing to 17 (excluding Utah) the number of states that allow gays and lesbians to wed. The District of Columbia also allows such unions. Thirty-three states prohibit it through state laws or constitutional amendments, known as state DOMAs.

'Hope and hatred collided': Nation pauses to remember John F. Kennedy 50 years after his death

aIn Dallas the cold and windy weather on Friday provided a sharp contrast to the bright sunshine of 50 years ago when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. The nation paused to remember Kennedy, and what was most important about his legacy. NBC's Brian Williams reports. By Simon Moya-Smith, Staff Writer, NBC News Benny Snyder / APA crowd gathers at a ceremony to mark the 50th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy on Friday at Dealey Plaza in Dallas. Thousands of dignitaries, historians and citizens across the nation collectively commemorated the life and legacy of fallen president John F. Kennedy 50 years to the day, and even to the moment, when he was brutally assassinated on the afternoon of Nov. 22, 1963.In Dallas, amid a cold rain, heightened security clad in lime reflective vests met 5,000 ticket holders, mostly in ponchos, to the damp plaza in preparation for a stately commemoration.The event was held adjacent to the exact spot where the 35th president of the United States was fatally wounded.Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings told those assembled that Kennedy's death ushered in a new generation."A new era dawned and another waned a half-century ago when hope and hatred collided right here in Dallas," he said. "Our collective hearts were broken."The mayor unveiled a new addition to the monument at the plaza; the final words from the speech Kennedy was to give that day in Dallas:We, in this country, in this generation, are — by destiny rather than by choice — the watchmen on the walls of world freedom. We ask, therefore, that we may be worthy of our power and responsibility, that we may exercise our strength with wisdom and restraint, and that we may achieve in our time and for all time the ancient vision of “peace on earth, good will toward men.” That must always be our goal, and the righteousness of our cause must always underlie our strength. For as was written long ago: “except the Lord keep the city, the watchmen waketh but in vain.”Mayor Mike Rawlings of Dallas, Texas holds a moment of silence in Dealey Plaza, 50 years ago to the moment that President Kennedy was shot.Historian David McCullough, a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize, lauded Kennedy for his eloquence and enthusiasm."He was ambitious to make it a better world and so were we," he said. "He was an optimist, and he said so, but there was no side stepping reality in what he said. He spoke to the point and with confidence. He knew words matter. His words changed lives. His words changed history."INTERACTIVE: ‘Everything changed’: Remembering JFK, 50 years pastA sampling from President John F. Kennedy's speeches, in which he spoke about the New Frontier of the 1960s, the search for "the kind of peace that makes life on Earth living," and the importance of civil rights. Cities across the country followed suit in paying tribute to the late president.The Boston Globe reprinted its front page from the morning after the president, a native son, was murdered. The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum had a day-long docket of events which included a display of the American flag which once draped Kennedy's coffin.U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder visited Arlington National Cemetery just before sunrise on Friday. Holder spent several minutes bowing his head before the graves of John F. Kennedy, his wife Jackie and two deceased Kennedy children.Social media was ablaze with the hashtag #JFK and Twitter users were re-tweeting quotes and comments from Kennedy's most memorable speeches.President Barack Obama ordered that all flags be flown at half-staff in remembrance of Kennedy.NBC's Brian Williams set the scene, live from Dealey Plaza in Dallas, where 50-years ago President Kennedy was shot by Lee Harvey Oswald.