Dzhokhar Tsarnaev a Boston Bomber apologises to victims after he was sentenced to death

In a thick Russian accent — with his head bowed and body shaking — the man who appeared cold and emotionless throughout his trial for bombing the Boston Marathon two years ago stood in federal court Wednesday and apologized for detonating one of two explosives at the historic race.




Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 21, stood nervously in a courtroom packed with survivors, jurors, lawyers and the federal judge who would shortly thereafter formally sentence him to death. He repeatedly invoked his Muslim faith while telling victims, “I am sorry for the lives I have taken, for the suffering I have caused you, and for the terrible damage I have done. Irreparable damage.”

He added, “If there is any lingering doubt, let there be no more. I did do it along with my brother.” Of the bombings, he said, “I am guilty.”

The words of admission and regret, the first he has uttered publicly, followed the powerful testimony of several dozen victims and relatives of the dead gathered in the courtroom. Earlier in the day, 23 of them — some still angry and suffering, others ready to move on and forgive — told the judge how the April 15, 2013, bombings had forever ripped apart their lives.