--- title: Boston Bombing Survivor: Either Sentence Is Too Good for Tsarnaev description: I hope that this begins to bring some level of closure to everyone affected. canonical: https://time.com/3814463/boston-bombing-trial-survivor-either-sentence-is-too-good-for-tsarnaev/ author: Leo Fonseca article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-04-09T01:49:29.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:04:38.222Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Boston Survivor: Either Sentence Is Too Good for Tsarnaev og:description: I hope that this begins to bring some level of closure to everyone affected. og:url: https://time.com/3814463/boston-bombing-trial-survivor-either-sentence-is-too-good-for-tsarnaev/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt02676a655e376500/6987ea2c524fc069e0df01a0/166984823.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, a suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing, photo released on April 19, 2013. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Boston Survivor: Either Sentence Is Too Good for Tsarnaev twitter:description: I hope that this begins to bring some level of closure to everyone affected. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt02676a655e376500/6987ea2c524fc069e0df01a0/166984823.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Boston Bombing Survivor: Either Sentence Is Too Good for Tsarnaev > Sponsored content. 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It explains how TIME's journalism is made, from the first pitch through the editorial decisions behind a finished story or cover. #### How can I read about how TIME chooses its covers? Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. by [Leo Fonseca](https://time.com/author/leo-fonseca/) ## Leo Fonseca Apr 9, 2015 1:49 AM UTC  Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, a suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing, photo released on April 19, 2013. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, a suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing, photo released on April 19, 2013. FBI/Getty Images by [Leo Fonseca](https://time.com/author/leo-fonseca/) ## Leo Fonseca Apr 9, 2015 1:49 AM UTC As I sat in my office and listened to the jury’s verdicts on the 30 counts against “white hat” “bomber number 2,” or Dzokhar Tsarnaev, for the Boston Marathon bombing, I found myself trying to figure out exactly how I feel. It seems like just yesterday that the first explosion knocked me and my friend Kaitlynn to the ground as we stood near the finish line. It also feels like it never really happened at all – and that this has just been one long, smoke-filled nightmare. I have seen firsthand the devastation and destruction that those blasts caused. I have seen the strength, courage, and resolve of those who lost family members, friends, limbs, hearing, jobs, sleep, and so many other things since that first bang. I have seen the city of Boston come together in a way I didn’t know was possible. I have seen humanity, charity, generosity, and support from neighbors and friends, strangers and family. I have seen the City of Watertown turn into what could only be the set of a Hollywood movie – except it was real. Neither Kaitlynn nor I had planned to watch the marathon that day. But when she asked if I wanted to join her watching a couple of our friends crossing the finish line, I said yes. We found a pretty good viewing spot, and I grabbed a blanket from the car. Kaitlynn was on my righthand side, and in front of her, close to the street, a young girl was holding up a pink sign. I’m six foot four, so Kaitlynn and I switched places. Boom. On the ground. Smoke. Blood. Screams. What the #$%& just happened? I crawled over to Kaitlynn and dove on top of her. She was trying to tell me something, but I couldn’t hear her. I looked down at her legs and saw the injury to her calf. I picked up the blanket, pressed it against her leg, picked her up, and carried her around the corner. I knew I had to do something to slow the bleeding, so I took off my tee shirt and pressed it against the wound, using my sweatshirt to tie it down. With the help of strangers, I put Kaitlynn in the car, and we sped off to the hospital. That was only the beginning for Kait and for so many others. Surgeries, therapy sessions, funerals, fundraisers, interviews, somber tribute events, tears, and smiles followed. Each and every survivor’s story is different and is theirs to tell. For me, since that day, I have run two marathons including Boston 2014 with the 4:15 Survivor team and NYC 2014 with Team MR8 (the Martin Richard Foundation Team) and a dozen halfs after not running more than three miles at a time in my life. I have become friends with so many amazing people. Which brings me to today. How do I feel? For starters, I feel relieved. I hope that this begins to bring some level of closure to everyone affected by these heinous acts. I feel grateful for the first responders, the medical community, the jury, the average citizens that became heroes, the generosity of so many people, and so much more. I feel guilty for some reason. Why am I OK? Why is hearing loss my only injury? I feel sadness for all of those who were badly injured or worse. I feel joy for those who have made tremendous strides in their recovery. I feel thankful for the support I received from family and friends. I feel hope that we as a people are better than this, and nothing like this is ever going to happen again. Naïve? Maybe, but I guess I feel that, too. It seems like everyone I know has asked about where I stand on the punishment. Do I want “white hat” to be sentenced to death, or do I want him to spend the rest of his life in jail? My thought is that it really doesn’t matter. I feel that either is too good for him, and that regardless of whatever the punishment is, it will never undo all of the damage that he and his brother caused. My focus is this: I hope that either way, the fact that justice is being served brings even the slightest sense of closure to everyone who was impacted in this tragedy. I hope that all of the good that people showed in the days, weeks, and months after 4/15/13 continues to prevail over evil, and that the message of “No more hurting people, peace” that Martin Richard conveyed on his now-famous [poster](http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/blog/2013/04/30/the-story-behind-martin-richards-peace-sign/) lives on. ### See Evidence From the Boston Bombing Trial  Prosecutors presented this image of a blood-stained, bullet-ridden message, allegedly written by Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on the inside of a boat, to jurors as evidence in Boston on March 10, 2015. U.S. Department of Justice/Reuters  Prosecutors presented this image of a blood-stained, bullet-ridden message, allegedly written by Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on the inside of a boat, to jurors as evidence in Boston on March 10, 2015. U.S. Department of Justice/Reuters  Prosecutors presented this image of a blood-stained, bullet-ridden message, allegedly written by Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on the inside of a boat, to jurors as evidence in Boston on March 10, 2015. U.S. Department of Justice/Reuters  This still image, presented as evidence at trial, shows the boat where Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev hid after a gunfight with police. U.S. Department of Justice/Reuters  This still image captured from video shows brothers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev crouched behind a car during their April 2013 shootout with police. U.S. Department of Justice/Corbis  Evidence markers are seen on a street where Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev engaged in a gunfight with police. U.S. Department of Justice/Reuters  A 9mm Luger clip and bullet package sit next to a backpack and bag on a street where Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev engaged in a gunfight with police. U.S. Department of Justice/Reuters  A wallet containing Tamerlan Tsarnaev's drivers license is seen in a still handout image entered as evidence in the trial of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. U.S. Department of Justice/Reuters  A large fragment of a homemade pressure-cooker bomb that accused Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is charged with throwing at police officers during a gunfight in Watertown, Mass. on April 19, 2015, is seen embedded in the side of a Honda Civic that was parked near the site of the disturbance. U.S. Department of Justice/Reuters  An unexploded metal bomb filled with explosive powder and lined with metal pellets was entered as evidence in the trial of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. U.S. Department of Justice/Reuters  An unexploded metal bomb was entered as evidence in the trial of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. U.S. Department of Justice/Reuters  This still image capture from video, which was released as evidence in the trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, shows the chaos as a bomb explodes during the 2013 Boston Marathon. U.S. Department of Justice/EPA  A still image captured from surveillance video at the Boston Marathon shows the scene moments before a second bomb exploded as a man, marked with a circle by prosecutors (top R) and identified by them as defendant Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, moves rapidly away from the spot near the finish line of the race on April 15, 2013 in Boston. U.S. Department of Justice/Reuters  A still image captured from surveillance video at the Boston Marathon shows the moment when a second bomb exploded as a man, marked with a circle by prosecutors (top R) and identified by them as defendant Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, moves rapidly away from the spot near the finish line of the race on April 15, 2013 in Boston. U.S. Department of Justice/Reuters  A still image captured from surveillance video at the Boston Marathon shows the moment when a second bomb exploded as a man, marked with a circle by prosecutors (top R) and identified by them as defendant Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, moves rapidly away from the spot near the finish line of the race on April 15, 2013 in Boston. 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