BOSTON (
MyFoxBoston.com) -- The parents of Martin Richard, who was killed during the marathon bombings, say they don't want Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to get the death penalty.
The couple wrote a letter for the
Boston Globe, saying that the time that has passed since the bombings has been "the most trying" of their lives. After burying their son and helping their daughter Jane Richard recover after losing a leg, the family is asking to "end the anguish."
They sat in court throughout the entire trial thus far, looking at all the evidence, including "the clothes our son wore his last day alive." They say now that the prosecution "ensured that justice will be served, we urge the Department of Justice to bring the case to a close."
They went on to say, "We are in favor of and would support the Department of Justice in taking the death penalty off the table in exchange for the defendant spending the rest of his life in prison without any possibility of release and waiving all of his rights to appeal."
"We can never replace what was taken from us, but we can continue to get up every morning and fight another day," the statement continued. "As long as the defendant is in the spotlight, we have no choice but to live a story told on his terms, not ours. The minute the defendant fades from our newspapers and TV screens is the minute we begin the process of rebuilding our lives and our family."
The explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon two years ago took the lives of three people and injured hundreds. Tsarnaev was
found guilty of all the charges against him and the trial is now in the
death penalty phase.
U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz issued a statement on Friday morning in response to the Richard's family plea.
"Over the past two years, I have heard from scores of survivors and victims about their feelings regarding this case," the statement read. "Many have strong views about the best way to proceed. Those views have been heard and have played a role -- and continue to play a role -- in the Department of Justice's handling of this case."
The statement continued to say that attorneys in a criminal case are legally bound to keep matters relating to the case confidential, even from the people most affected by the crimes. "As the case moves forward we will continue to do all we can to protect and vindicate those injured and those who have passed away," the statement concluded."
