BOSTON (WHDH) - The mother of two men who lost their legs in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing told 7NEWS that she is “disgusted, stunned, and numb” to learn that a federal appeals court on Friday overturned the death sentence of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
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Liz Norden spoke with 7’s Steve Cooper minutes after learning Tsarnaev will be getting a new penalty-phase trial. Her sons, Paul and J.P., each lost a leg in the attack.
“I honestly can’t comprehend what just happened,” she said. “I’m at a loss…It’s awful.”
The April 15, 2013, attack killed three people and injured more than 260 others. Tsarnaev was sentenced to death in 2015 — an outcome that Norden had been hoping for.
Norden, who was “at a loss for words,” called the ruling “mind-boggling.”
She added that she can’t stomach the thought of sitting through another trial.
“I’m angry and I’m disgusted,” she said. “I’m just so dumbfounded. If this case doesn’t deserve the death penalty, then what the Hell does?”
Tsarnaev’s lawyers had argued that intense media coverage had made it impossible to have a fair trial in Boston.
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They also pointed to social media posts from two jurors suggesting they harbored strong opinions even before the 2015 trial started.
It’s unclear when a new penalty-phase trial for Tsarnaev will happen but United States Marshals would have to bring the convicted killer back to Boston.
“I can’t imagine going through this all over again. It’s crazy. I honestly didn’t think this would ever be a thought,” Norden added.
Tsarnaev recently turned 27 years old.
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