BOSTON (
MyFoxBoston.com) -- The stakes here could not be higher: A jury will ultimately make the call if Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsaranev should pay the ultimate price for his crimes.
It all starts with what will amount to a second trial for Tsarnaev.
The jury found him guilty on all 30 counts, and yes on all supporting questions. The same jury that convicted him will now be the jury that decides if he should get the death penalty.
To save his life, Tsarnaev's lawyers are expected to try to humanize him, to portray him as a young man who fell under his older brother's influence.
Boston criminal defense attorney Peter Elikann says Tsarnaev's lawyers will likely try to do that, by presenting people who knew a different side to Dzhokhar.
"If there were neighbors, if there were friends, or buddies of his. If there were some sympathetic people who knew him. The whole point of personalizing him, humanize him, is not just a psychologist bringing in a piece of paper saying we've done testing and we don't think he's the worst person ever. It's really to give anecdotes," he said.
In the 10 days since Tsarnaev's conviction, victim Martin Richard's parents publicly opposed the death penalty in this case, along with Jessica Kensky and Patrick Downes, a married couple who both lost limbs in the bombing.
The jury is not supposed to know about that, but Ellikan said it could have an effect.
"People tend to give some deference to the victims. They don't have to. The victims and the families are not the deciders," he said. "They are not the jurors, they are not the judge. It's not their judgment call one what the punishment should be."
Elikann does not expect to see Dzhokhar Tsarnaev himself to take the stand, saying that would be an extraordinary risk, because it would open him up to tough questions from government prosecutors.
For Tsarnaev to get the death penalty, all 12 jurors would have to agree on the penalty.
Opening statements in the next phase begin Tuesday at 9 a.m.
