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The Prosecution Opened Sentencing Arguments in the Boston Bombing Trial with a Shocking Photograph

The government is out to prove that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was not just a pawn in his older brother's scheme but a terrorist who "was determined and destined to be America's worst nightmare."

Jane Flavell Collins/AP

On July 10, 2013, Dzhokhar "Jahar" Tsarnaev sat inside a secluded cell overlooked by a security camera. He had already been charged with killing three people during the Boston Marathon bombing and shooting a police officer between the eyes to steal his gun and vehicle. But rather than focus on any of the violence he committed, Assistant US Attorney Nadine Pellegrini chose to make this moment the climax of her opening argument in the sentencing phase of the convicted terrorist's trial, which began this morning around 10 AM.

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Pellegrini quoted Ralph Waldo Emerson about how destiny is the sum of one's decisions. "His destiny was determined by him," she said of the bomber. "Jahar Tsarnaev was determined and destined to be America's worst nightmare." Behind her was a presentation board covered by what looked like black cardboard.

The mop-topped college kid hasn't been heard from since he was apprehended. Except for reporters and jurors, much of America hasn't seen his face except for the bewildered-looking one that was on FBI flyers, the one on the cover of Rolling Stone that got the magazine all that flak, and the grainy ones from surveillance photos. Photographers aren't allowed in federal courthouses.

But the image Pellegrini eventually revealed behind the black cardboard was menacing. It was a closeup of him giving the finger to his cell's security camera, his face contorted in a sneer that, in context, was genuinely frightening. "This is Jahar Tsarnaev," she said as courtroom observers audibly gasped.

The guilt phase of the trial was pretty much over as soon as it started with famed defense attorney Judy Clarke immediately clearing the air by saying, "It was him." Unsurprisingly, Tsarnaev was found guilty on all 30 counts, 17 of which are capital offenses. Starting next Monday, defense will argue that Tsarnaev should get life in prison rather than the death penalty because he was under the influence of his radicalized older brother, Tamerlan, who died after Tsarnaev ran over him during a police shootout.

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During that first portion of the trial, the prosecution hammered home the gritty details of how victims, some as young as eight, died. This time, Pellegrini said, they're going to focus on the people the victims left behind.

In order for Tsarnaev to get the death penalty, the US government must prove one of four "gateway" factors, the judge said in his instructions, including that he intentionally took a life or intentionally inflicted seriously bodily harm that resulted in death. That's kind of an already foregone conclusion.

Next, then, the prosecution has to prove a statutory aggravating factor beyond a reasonable doubt and have all the jurors agree on it. The government is alleging six of these, including that the defendant behaved in a cruel manner and that he engaged in substantial premeditation when planning the attack.

In contrast, the defense just has to show that a mitigating factor (such as Tsarnaev being impaired, under duress, or a "minor participant" in the bombing) is more than likely true. The defense will put forth these mitigating factors on Monday, the jurors will then weigh these factors, and if they decide unanimously that he deserves the death penalty, he will be executed.

Of course the biggest question of all is whether Tsarnaev will testify in an attempt to save his own life. It's unclear whether he was coerced by his older brother, as the defense alleges, or if he is a political terrorist who wished to die a martyr. All we know so far is what he wrote inside of a boat as he was waiting to be apprehended by police.

"Know you are fighting men who look into the barrel of your gun and see heaven, now how can you compete with that," he scrawled. "We are promised victory and we will surely get it."

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