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Jury Find Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Guilty. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired April 08, 2015 - 14:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Ashleigh, the key thing we're talking about as we move into the penalty phase is mitigators and aggravators. A lot of people say, what exactly is that? Why does that matter so much? What will be presented by both sides here?

[14:30:31] ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR, LEGAL VIEW: Yeah, and this is the work Judy Clark has cut out for her now that we know what the first 17 verdicts are regarding death penalty.

Here's the U.S. Code Title 18, Part 2, chapter 2, page 28. Sorry to get technical, but that's what this is. The list of aggregators, the list of aggravators.

Mitigators are things that could save his life. Aggravators are things so awful that he needs to die. The list is simple Let me read out the ones in this case.

In mitigators, did he have the capacity to understand the conduct? Was he under duress? Did he have minor participation? Were there equally culpable defendants in the crime? The brother. Did he have a prior criminal record? In this case, no, he did not. Number eight. Other factors. This is basically an open basket to throw in anything in his background. Did he have a good school record? Was he nice? Did he have lots of friends? Did he go to school regularly or have a job? They get to throw all these in the encompassing basket at the end.

Then come the aggravators. Number one, the death during commission of another crime. This is complicated but, effectively, death or injury resulting in death occurred during the commission or attempted commission of something revolving around Officer Sean Collier. Use of weapons of mass destruction. Those are firearm charges regarding the pressure cookers. Previous conviction of felony involving a firearm. Doesn't pertain to him. History of other serious offenses? Doesn't refer to him. Heinous, cruel, depraved manner of committing the offense. He blew apart a child and two other people and then effectively according to this jury was come police sit in the killing of Sean Collier. Vulnerability of the victim. Martin Richard was 8 years old. This lists out the victim was as a rule -- was vulnerable to age. Multiple killings. I think we've got that part clear. Last one, use of firearm. Firearm in this case. There are firearms and the pressure cooker in the eyes of the law, which is a firearm.

I need to re-emphasize, they're not a wait game. It's a feeling you get as a juror. Judy Clark has been employing mitigation specialists to build up that giant basket of things that might save him. KEILAR: That will be key. That is the only thing that might save

him. We will see.

I want to recap what we've seen happen so far. We've had new counts come in. A firearm count pertaining to the Ruger, the gun used during the Watertown carjacking and ATM theft. The young man that spent 90 minutes with Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev. Counts 23 and 24, 25, 26, 27. We're looking at 27 out of 27 counts guilty. We're awaiting three in the case of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the now guilty Boston Marathon bomber.

I want to bring in our panel.

And before I do, I want to share some of the color we're getting from inside the courtroom. Important to note, since we cannot see it, what is Dzhokhar Tsarnaev doing right now? He has been standing as the counts are read one by one. His hands clasped in front of him. His head bowed. He had begun fidgeting as this got up to the counts in the 20s. He, so far, has not looked at the jury. Quiet, obviously, the whole time.

I want to bring in our panel. We have Eric, Linda, Paul.

Paul, you heard Ashleigh go through the mitigators. Count 28, guilty. 28 of 28 guilty. Mitigators are key things. Jurors might say, you know what, I sympathize with him. He was pulled along in this with his older brother, Tamerlan, the mastermind. All that pertain to him, you check them off. How does he have a shot? What can Judy Clark do to pull sympathy strings of jurors?

[14:35:40] PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: She's not going to win on aggravators. He hits all bad ones with multiple victims, helpless people, people associated with the government. Everything you can imagine, they have proven. She's got to shift back and say he came from a troubled home, troubled childhood. He was dominated by a big brother he respected and was a committed ideologue. He wasn't acting on his own but an agent of the older brother. Remember, we're in a jurisdiction here Massachusetts, which doesn't recognize the death penalty. This is a federal case. That's why the death penalty is in play. In a state case, the death penalty would not be on the table. People of Massachusetts have said the death penalty is wrong, and we do not agree with it. He's got these jurors that for any reason oppose the death penalty, that's who Judy Clark is playing to, maybe a juror who holds deep seated views on that.

KEILAR: This just in to CNN. Breaking news here. This is the final count in the Boston Marathon case. Count 30, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev guilty. That means the accused Boston Marathon bomber, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, is the convicted Boston Marathon bomber. A reset for viewers out there as we've been watching all counts come in, conspiracy charges, weapons violations, murder charges.

Let's bring in our panel to discuss this very important development here.

So if you are -- and you represented -- you were on the Casey Anthony's team. What is Judy Clark going to say to get sympathy from jurors in the case now that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is facing the death penalty?

LINDA KENNEDY BADEN, CRIMINAL ATTORNEY: It's interesting. She doesn't want the jurors to feel like they did in the Oklahoma City bombing case. This is kind of what this is. She wants to be Clarence Darrow, back in the 1920s, when the early death penalty cases, argued, yes, we take responsibility. That was the case where Clarence pled his clients guilty. We did it. We did all these horrible things to this child, but ladies and gentlemen -- and then he went on for a day talking about mercy, faith, redemption, youth, and the points she'll hit went she hits that jury. She only needs one. They don't have to agree with each other. It's a debate within that one person whether the mitigating factors justify saving his life.

KEILAR: So in a way, she's appealing to the humanity of the jurors, right? She's saying you can punish him, give him life in prison, he'll never see the light of day, but you don't need to kill him essentially.

ERIC GUSTER, CRIMINAL & CIVIL TRIAL ATTORNEY: Yes. That is all she has. Her case was built to reach the humanity side of these jurors. Just like what a Paul said as well, you only have to reach one. You only have to reach one. They knew that going into this trial that this was a case he was going to be found guilty. They wanted to save his life. When they put this evidence up and I'm sure they got a little hope when jurors asked about aiding and abetting. That may show them he may have been under the control of his brother which is one of the mitigating factors he was not the master mind in this case. It may save his life.

[14:39:44] KEILAR: To remind our viewers as well, the lives we're talking about here, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is held responsible for, Krystle Campbell waiting to see the runners cross the finish line; Martin Richard, the bomb left close to him and his sister; Lingzi Lu, an exchange student at the Boston Marathon there on Patriot's Day for what was an American experience, to see this world class sporting event. She ended up losing her life this day. And Sean Collier, the MIT police officer, who never had a chance. He was shot point blank in the shooting. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been held responsible by a jury in Boston. Those are the faces we're talking about. Aside from the four people killed by the Tsarnaevs, also talking about 264 people who were also injured, many of them gravely. Many lives have been changed forever as they've lost limbs and try to cope with the aftermath of what happened two years ago in Boston.

I want to bring in Deb Feyerick.

Deb, we are expecting to hear from some of the families of people here whose lives were lost, and also some of the victims who survived but bear the scars today.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that and the U.S. attorney that helped prosecute this case. Look at the faces of the four killed in this devastating attack. Sean Collier, we saw images of him shot between the eyes. Lingzi Lu, her leg was sliced open. She bled out on the street. 8-year-old Martin Richard. These are the details, the horror of what these four people and hundreds of others, 240 victims also injured, this is the horror of what this jury had to listen to as they sat through 17 days of testimony.

It's very interesting. Initially, perhaps we thought there would be a surprise on one of the charges. Clearly, the jury realized the charges against Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the fact his lawyers said it was him, but keep an open mind. It was hard to go against any of the counts that he was facing. So he has been found guilty in the murders in connection of murders of Krystle Campbell at the finish line with a friend. Martin Richard standing there with his family who was in court through the duration of this trial. His mom lost sight in one eye. His father lost hearing and an ear. The father heroically saving then 6-year-old daughter. Lingzi Lu wasn't supposed to be there that day. She was going to stay home and study, but a friend convinced her come out. They heard this testimony and clearly paid attention to this testimony. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev standing there listening, guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty. Not only to the 30 counts against him but also the sub counts as well. You have to wonder really what, if anything, he's thinking about what this means. Again, you can't get into the head of somebody when they're listening to all of this. He seemed disengaged during the course of the trial. Sitting there watching him for move or reaction. There really wasn't any. So the jury likely saw that, has likely watched him. They did. When they were looking at these -- the images of these people and how they died. I did see jurors looking up and looking in the direction of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. It's not a very large courtroom. So it creates an intimate setting. The jurors are no more than 30 feet from the defense table where he's sitting. The witnesses who came to testify, less than 10 feet from Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. It's almost this triangle you've got the jury looking at Tsarnaev. Tsarnaev looking at no one. Witnesses trying to make eye contact with Tsarnaev to see if anything registers. And one of the women --

(CROSSTALK)

[14:44:48] KEILAR: Did anything register? Did anything register as they were looking at him? Did they get sense of someone at all contrite? When did we see? We saw Tsarnaev perk up a few times, but it didn't seem to be in remorse when you were hearing horrible details about what happened.

FEYERICK: That's exactly right. He did not really look over at the witnesses. One woman -- I remember her so distinctly. She had a beautiful striped dress on. Hair was done, light sweater. She was wheeled into the courtroom. The remainders of her legs sticking out. Both had been amputated. Those are the images people saw at the beginning of this trial. We are going to hear from more people there, people that did not testify in the guilt phase. That might include the mother of Martin Richard who's going to testify how she tried to save her son. How she tried to take his inners that had blown out and put them back in his body. Those are the things that try to resonate and stick with jurors. There are seven women, five men. They have been impacted by what they heard and what they saw. Numerous times we saw them wipe tears from their faces. When they looked at the body of the evidence, when they looked at what was going on. The defense really only questioned a couple -- four of the witnesses really. It was on technical matters involving GPS, cell phone data, the content of texts and whether in fact they were jihadi propaganda or popular songs and lyrics had been taken. It was really -- you sit there day after day looking at one other and trying to gauge what's going on and it's a very emotional and very heavy time. That's the best way I can describe it. The stakes for, obviously, Tsarnaev, but the witnesses and even the jury, they understand how serious this is.

KEILAR: And it must weigh so much on jurors who have heard these details.

I want to go to the courthouse in Boston. Alexandra Field in the courtroom.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev guilty on 30 of 30 counts, eligible for the death penalty. You're giving us the first account from inside the courtroom.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: If ever you could feel tension inside a room it was inside that room. For a few minutes we sat there waiting for Tsarnaev to come in. Waiting for the jury to come in and return the verdict. It was absolutely silent except for people tapping away on keyboards. There was a lot of media in the room. There's been a tremendous amount of emotional testimony. There was almost no exhibit of emotion after guilty after guilty after guilty was read. Survivors, sitting in the second row of the courtroom, the Richards listening to testimony about the horrific death of their 8- year-old son Martin. They sat there and listened to 30 counts. This is the day we all imagine they have waited a long time for. So many have been waiting for justice, wanting for justice. Hearing the jury deliver the verdict they had hoped for. Hearing the jury deliver the verdict so many contributed to with their testimony and recollections of that terrible day in Boston and horrific week that followed. It was amazing to see the dignity, strength, composure of people that sat in this room. Their lives ripped apart that week. The man responsible of those acts not far from them. They were not audible, no heaving, no crying. We saw people begin to wipe their eyes, lower their heads from side to side. They would try to get a look at Dzhokhar Tsarnaev or the jury. There was no way to make eye contact. Most of them looking straight ahead as each of the verdicts and counts were read out. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev giving us no more than what he has given the room for the course of the trial. No visible expression of emotion at all. At one point he seemed to turn and look at the jury ever so briefly. We've rarely seen him try to make eye contact with jurors. For the most part, he had hands fold inside of him. He looked at the desk in front of him. Half way through the reading of counts, he began to fidget, rubbing his chin, scratching the back of his head. Doing no more than that. After he was found guilty of 30 counts, he got up and strolled out of the door he entered showing no emotion after hearing the word "guilty" 30 times.

[14:50:07] KEILAR: Alexandra Field, stay with us. We'll come back to you in a moment.

I want to bring in the panel as we have the breaking news. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev now stands as the convicted Boston Marathon bomber.

A jury in Boston finding him guilty on 30 of 30 counts. He's eligible for the death penalty. This trial now goes to the penalty phase.

I want to read first off early reaction we're getting from some of the family members who have been affected here, some of the victims who survived that day but bear the scars.

From the Heather Abbott Foundation. Heather lost her leg below the knee during the bombing a couple years ago. She said, "Thanks to everyone that reached out today and continued to support me and the other bombing victims and their families over the last two years. Nothing can replace the lives that were lost or changed forever, but at least there's relief in knowing justice is served and responsibility will be taken." She says justice is served.

Listen to this statement we're getting from Jeff Balman (ph), a bombing victim there at the Boston Marathon. He says, "Today's verdict will never replace the lives lost and so dramatically changed but it's a relief and one step closer to closure."

One step. For someone like Jeff, this isn't enough. He wants to see more. Many of these victims may want the death penalty.

How much, Paul, does that weigh on the jurors? Will they hear what the victims want?

CALLAN: Well, yes they will be able to hear the impact these crimes have had on the victims. I think we have to be careful here in understanding that some of the victims -- remember there are over 200 victims of this. I'm betting some are death penalty opponents. It's not unusual to see that a rise. When it's a family member, you change your opinion about it. So I think because of the location of the crime in Massachusetts, there's still a possibility here this could wind up as a life sentence, not withstanding what the victims feel about it.

KEILAR: Linda, what makes a juror support life in prison over the death penalty?

BADEN: It's a very personal decision. We have a home in Massachusetts. I have kids and grandkids in Boston. This is a very difficult situation over there. It's also very Catholic. The Catholic Church is opposed to the death penalty, even though -- it's opposed to abortion. It's very consistent. It will be interesting to know if Judy Clark -- even though you're not supposed to pick the jury based on religion, but was possibly able to feel whether people had religious objections. Maybe they say we'd do the death penalty, but also in the back of their mind is, well, maybe we should --

(CROSSTALK)

CALLAN: One of the strongest arguments that I've heard articulated even by people that support the death penalty, against it here, is as an Islamic radical, he wanted to die. If you put him to death, you're giving him essentially what he wanted. Putting him in the jail cell the rest of his life might be the true punishment. That's the argument.

(CROSSTALK)

BADEN: There's argument he didn't want to die.

(CROSSTALK)

CALLAN: That's what prosecutors will say.

(CROSSTALK)

GUSTER: That makes him a martyr if he dies for his cause. Giving him the death penalty may be exactly what he wants. I died for my cause. He's going to claim he's Islamic radical, dying for his cause. That may be what he wants in this case.

(CROSSTALK)

BADEN: Judy Clark had that in the other bombing case. It's interesting how she'll handle that.

KEILAR: Can I ask you, seven women on the jury, right? You would think that maybe one of the ways that Judy Clark, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's attorney, might be able to appeal to them is bring out Tsarnaev's mother to appeal as a mother. Yet she's not someone who's going to convince this jury. She's someone who's been very outspoken, who feels her sons were set up. That's not a tool that Judy Clark has in her chest, right?

GUSTER: That is right. She does not want to put up a witness who will help the prosecution. His mother might because she feels he's been set up. She's not going to be the type of person what makes up the guilty verdict.

(CROSSTALK)

BADEN: On the other side, when a jury hears a mother and says what chance did this kid have with a mother like that? She has indoctrinated him. They've done focus groups on this. They know what is going to appeal to a jury and not going to appeal to a jury. And I'm sure --

(CROSSTALK)

GUSTER: I'm sure that's involved in jury selection.

BADEN: Absolutely. Absolutely.

GUSTER: Often times we focus on one or two jurors we think we can change. It takes one person to say I will not vote for death penalty. That would be on that person's conscious forever.

[14:55:22] CALLAN: Let me give you flip side of the martyrdom argument. A lot say put him to death because that's what he wants. Others say put him in prison and mix with other people who are going to be released from prison, is he going to create other terrorist, threats to U.S. security in many years of prison? Imagine how many he's going to be able to be exposed to. So --

(CROSSTALK)

KEILAR: That's a fascinating point.

(CROSSTALK)

KEILAR: That fascinating point could be made.

And I want to --

(CROSSTALK)

GUSTER: He would never be in general population. He killed kids. They don't like that.

BADEN: Never. Right. That's right.

GUSTER: He wouldn't last 20 minutes in general population.

KEILAR: I want to bring in Danny Cevallos, CNN legal analyst, to talk about this.

Danny, you've been watching this occasion as you've gone on over several weeks. So many difficult moments. It comes to this. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev guilty on all 30 counts. He could face the death penalty. Moving forward as this jury -- we've heard the fact you may have jurors there in Massachusetts who may feel that they're opposed to the death penalty. What will your expectations be as we move to the next phase?

DANNY CEVALLOS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: I've been hearing that a lot in the last few days. Massachusetts is not a death penalty state. Since every state has a federal court, arguably, every state is a death penalty state. But this jury is no ordinary jury. They're what's called a death-qualified jury. They've been extensively asked, if you had to give the death penalty as a punishment, could you do it? I think we should consider less whatever the history or traditions the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has and more about this is a death- penalty qualified jury that is expected, if they feel the aggravating factors are there, to order this defendant to death.

KEILAR: Danny, stay with us.

We are awaiting, as you see in the upper right hand corner of your screen, those are microphones. We're awaiting the family members of those killed at the Boston Marathon and also the survivors of the attack. Remember, there were 264 victims that day.

We will be right back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

[14:59:47] KEILAR: Almost two years after the Boston Marathon bombing, the story thousand coming full circle as a jury in Boston renders a guilty verdict for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, surviving brother in the attack, guilty on all 30 counts, 17 of them making him eligible for the death penalty. This very important part of this trial concluding today.