MASSACHUSETTS’S Episcopal Church bishops, like their Roman Catholic counterparts, say they’re opposed to the death penalty for Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
The bishops issued a statement on Thursday saying they’re praying for all those affected by the 2013 bombings, including the victims’ families and those involved in bringing Tsarnaev to justice. They reaffirmed their opposition to capital punishment—a position the Episcopal Church has held since 1958.
The bishops’ statement calls the bombings “repugnant and morally inexcusable.” But it calls the death penalty “an unjustified violation of the prohibition against taking a human life.” Massachusetts’s Catholic bishops issued a similar statement this month.
The family of an 8-year-old boy, who died in the bombings, has also spoken out against capital punishment for Tsarnaev.
Federal prosecutions have rested their case in the penalty phase of the federal trial of Tsarnaev.
A jury must decide whether to sentence him to life in prison or to death.
The prosecution rested on Thursday afternoon after calling a man who lost a leg in the bombing.
They will get a chance for rebuttal after the defense presents its case. The defense is expected to begin presenting its witnesses okMonday.
Tsarnaev was convicted earlier this month of all 30 charges against him. Three people were killed and more than 260 others were wounded when twin bombs exploded at the 2013 marathon.
Image credits: AP Photo/Jane Flavell Collins