Boston bomber apologizes, admits guilt for deadly 2013 attack
Posted June 24, 2015 7:45 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
BOSTON (NEWS 1130) – Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on Wednesday apologized for the deadly 2013 attack at a hearing at which he was to be formally sentenced to death.
“I am sorry for the lives I have taken, for the suffering that I have caused you, for the damage I have done, irreparable damage,” Tsarnaev, 21, told a federal court.
It was the first time that the ethnic Chechen, who did not speak in his own defense during his trial, had addressed the court.
“In case there is any doubt, I am guilty of this attack, along with my brother,” Tsarnaev said, standing at the defense table.
Tsarnaev was found guilty of killing three people and injuring 264 in the April 15, 2013, bombing near the finish line of the world-renowned race, as well as fatally shooting a police officer three days later.
Tsarnaev spoke after two dozen people, including those who lost limbs and loved ones in the bombing, discussed the attack’s toll on their lives.
Rebekah Gregory, who lost her left leg in one of the highest-profile attacks on U.S. soil since Sept. 11, 2001, addressed Tsarnaev directly.
“Terrorists like you do two things in this world. One, they create mass destruction, but the second is quite interesting,” Gregory said. “Because do you know what mass destruction really does? It brings people together. We are Boston strong and we are America strong, and choosing to mess with us was a terrible idea.
“How’s that for your victim impact statement?”
