Boston responds to death penalty for marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev

The general response of Boston Marathon bombing survivors to Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's receiving the death penalty was not jubilation – but a solemn belief that justice had been served.

On April 15, 2013, three people lost their lives when two pressure-cooker bombs packed with shrapnel exploded near the finish line of the race. More than 260 were injured.

“Today is not a day of celebration,” Carmen Ortiz, U.S. attorney for the district of Massachusetts, said in a press conference after the decision. “It is not a day for political or moral debate. It is a day for reflection and healing.”

The jury reached their decision on Tsarnaev, who was convicted on all 30 of the federal charges against him last month (17 of which carried the possibility of the death penalty), after just 14 hours of deliberation.

Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh released a statement shortly after the announcement, thanking the jurors and the judicial system for their service to their city’s community and to the country at large.

“I hope this verdict provides a small amount of closure to the survivors, families, and all impacted by the violent and tragic events surrounding the 2013 Boston Marathon,” the statement said. “We will forever remember and honor those who lost their lives and were affected by those senseless acts of violence on our City.”

Sydney Corcoran, whose foot was severely injured in the blast, supported the jury’s decision, tweeting that Tsarnaev, by his own actions, deserved this outcome.

Corcoran’s mother, Celeste, was also blown to the ground during the terrorist attack – losing both of her legs.

“My mother and I think that NOW he will go away and we will be able to move on. Justice. In his own words, ‘an eye for an eye,’” she wrote on Twitter.

Another survivor of the bombing, Adrianne Haslet-Davis, also took to Twitter to support the verdict.

Haslet-Davis, a dancer, lost her left leg below the knee in the explosion. Against the odds, she started to dance with a prosthetic.

“I refuse to be called a victim,” she wrote on her website. “I am not defined by what happened in my life. I am a survivor, defined by how I live my life."

Rebekah Gregory DiMartino, whose leg was amputated after the blast, wrote on Facebook, “Completely numb...and waiting anxiously for the day all this is really over. My heart and prayers are with my Boylston Street family."

Becki Norris, one of Tsarnaev’s former middle school teachers, who testified during the trial, was among those who did not see the verdict as justice served. During the trial she had described Tsarnaev as “a human being who still needs love.”

After the decision, she tweeted she does not see the benefit of “adding more death & pain.”

Michael Ward, an off-duty firefighter who helped the wounded, said at a press conference following the decision that the verdict was nothing to celebrate – it was simply a matter of justice.

“He’s gonna go to Hell. That's where he wanted to go, but he’s going to get there quicker than he thought,” he said.

Ward complimented the U.S. Attorney’s Office for its work on the case, and added that the way everyone came together that fateful day — from the police officers to the first responders — speaks volumes of the strength of the United States.

“Ultimately, justice has prevailed today. His premeditated actions to stand behind children, wait 4½ minutes with a fully loaded bomb, and then to call his brother and tell him when to explode his bomb, moments earlier. His justice now,” he said.

Watertown Police Department Chief Edward Deveau said the trial showed that the majority of police officers in the country are dedicated to protecting the communities they love.

Deveau said that the officers who worked to bring Tsarnaev to justice exemplify the best in law enforcement.

“My thoughts now are with the survivors. Those two brothers — back in the Watertown Police Department — we won’t think about them anymore,” Deveau said.