Boston Marathon bombing trial: Parents of eight-year-old victim Martin Richard appeal for life of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to be spared

Essay in Boston newspaper comes as jury prepares to sentence 21-year-old convicted bomber

Family of eight-year-old Martin Richard (Reuters)

The family of a young boy killed in the Boston Marathon bombing have called for the life of the man convicted of carrying out the attack to be spared.

A troubled 21-year-old, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, was found guilty last week of 30 charges linked to the attack that killed three people and injured at least 260. The sentencing phase of the trial, when jurors will be asked to decide whether or not he should receive the death penalty, is due to begin next week.

But in an essay published in the Boston Globe, the parents of Martin Richard, an eight-year-old boy killed in the attack and whom Tsarnaev was captured on film standing next to shortly before the blast, have asked for the convicted man to jailed.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's brother was killed in a shoot-out with police (Getty)

“We know that the government has its reasons for seeking the death penalty, but the continued pursuit of that punishment could bring years of appeals and prolong reliving the most painful day of our lives,” write Bill and Denise Richard.

“We hope our two remaining children do not have to grow up with the lingering, painful reminder of what the defendant took from them, which years of appeals would undoubtedly bring.”

There are only two options available to jurors in the federal prosecution – life imprisonment without the option of parole or else the death penalty.

Recent surveys have suggested that many in Massachusetts, which does not have the death penalty for cases that are prosecuted by the state, would prefer Tsarnaev was jailed rather than executed.

Martin Richard was one of three people killed in the 2013 attack

The Richards said a death penalty would result in a series of drawn-out hearings and appeals and would constantly remind them of what happened.

They sat through the trial that resulted in Tsarnaev’s conviction and one of their two other children, Jane, was badly injured in the attack.

“We understand all too well the heinousness and brutality of the crimes committed,” they wrote. “We were there. We lived it. The defendant murdered our 8-year-old son, maimed our 7-year-old daughter, and stole part of our soul.”

Yet they added: “The story of Marathon Monday 2013 should not be defined by the actions or beliefs of the defendant, but by the resiliency of the human spirit and the rallying cries of this great city.”