Boston Bombing’s Brutality No Guarantee of Death Penalty
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As prosecutors weighed charges in the Boston Marathon bombings, the same laws used successfully in deadly terrorist acts such as the Oklahoma City bombing and the first World Trade Center attack were at the top of their list.
Terrorism cases brought over the past 20 years show there are a number of federal statutes that can be applied, including conspiracy to use or actual use of a weapon of mass destruction, which is punishable by death. Today, the Justice Department chose that very law to charge Dzhokar Tsarnaev in the attack.