USA - Massachusetts. Family members of two Massachusetts murder victims have spoken out against death penalty

Family members of two Massachusetts murder victims have spoken out concerning their views on the sentence they believe should be imposed on Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in the Boston Marathon bombing. Jennifer Lemmerman, the sister of MIT Police Officer Sean Collier, who was killed in the aftermath of the Boston marathon bombing, said Tsarnaev should be sentenced to life in prison. "Whenever someone speaks out against the death penalty, they are challenged to imagine how they would feel if someone they love were killed. I’ve been given that horrible perspective and I can say that my position has only strengthened," Lemmerman wrote. She went on to say, "I also can’t imagine that killing in response to killing would ever bring me peace or justice. . . . I choose to remember Sean for the light that he brought. No more darkness." Robert Curley, whose 10-year-old son, Jeffrey, was murdered in 1997, appeared on Necn News to discuss his views on capital punishment and the Tsarnaev case. Curley said he came to oppose the death penalty after the trials of the men who murdered his son convinced him that "the system is just not fair" and could not be trusted to reach the right result in capital cases. Curley said he believes Tsarnaev should receive life without parole because a death sentence would mean endless appeals, but a life sentence would mean he would, "go away never to be heard from again." Tsarnaev was convicted of 30 charges, including 17 that could result in a death sentence. The jury will consider his sentence during the penalty phase of the trial, set to begin April 21.