Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Apologizes in Court; Tsarnaev Apologizes, Is Sentenced to Death
TAPPER: Welcome back to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper. Now to the conclusion of the Boston Marathon bombing trial in federal court in Boston. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was formally sentenced for the bombings on April 15, 2013. In April of this year, he was convicted of a total of 30 charges, including the killing of 29-year-old Krystle Campbell, 8- year-old Martin Richard, and 23-year-old Lingzi Lu, and the wounding of 264 other people. He was also convicted of the murder of MIT police officer Sean Collier. Today, the convicted terrorist was given the opportunity to speak. He apologized. And CNN's national correspondent Deb Feyerick was there, joins me now from Boston. Deb, what did he have to say?</s>DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, it was interesting, because he broke his silence. He admitted it. He said -- quote -- The bombing, which I'm guilty of, if there's any lingering doubt, I did it, along with my brother." And then he did, as you say, apologize to the victims and their families, saying -- quote -- "I'm sorry for the lives I have taken, the suffering I have caused, the damage I have done." And at one point, he paused, seeming to choke up on those words, seeming moved by what he was saying. Now, he spoke in a heavy accent. It was almost a Russian Arabic accent, sounded like. He was standing in a dark gray suit, a gray button-down shirt. And he looked at the judge. And he really said that this is Ramadan, this is the holy month of Ramadan. It's -- quote -- "a month in which hearts change." However, the U.S. attorney spoke afterwards, and like many of the families, didn't believe it.</s>CARMEN ORBITZ, U.S. ATTORNEY: What I was struck more was by what he didn't say. He didn't renounce terrorism.</s>FEYERICK: And so, you see, many of the people were skeptical, saying, look, he could have done that anytime during the ten-week trial. He could have shown remorse at anytime. He chose not to until the very end, Jake.</s>TAPPER: And, Deb, obviously, it was emotional, this horrific person who committed this unspeakable act, finally being sentenced to death. What was the mood like in the cord, especially giving the fact that some of the victims and their family members spoke?</s>FEYERICK: Yes, absolutely. It was -- it was a really interesting mood, Jake. It was defiance, forgiveness. There was anger. There was also a sense of resignation that lives would never be the same. Rebecca Gregory, she was probably the strongest, defiant -- the most defiant. She walked in with her prosthetic legs, and the toes -- the plastic toes were painted this ort of bright, happy coral. She said, you know, it's so funny you smirk and flip off the camera. I feel that's what we are doing to you. Another amputee, Heather Abbott, said that he did not break me. The memory of those killed will be kept alive by those who survived this terror. And a third person says, basically, I forgive you. I forgive your brother. Take responsibility, forgo the appeals process, so we can all move forward in peace. A lot of headiness in the courtroom. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in the beginning looked very relaxed. By the end, looking more sober, taken away in handcuffs, Jake.</s>TAPPER: Those victims, so brave of them, so much courage must be needed to muster to stand there in the presence of that person. There was also an incident outside the courthouse, Deb. What happened? What was that about?</s>FEYERICK: Yes, it was really interesting. We broke for lunch, and a lot of the victims actually went down to the cafeteria that's inside the court just behind me, so the line was long. A couple of us moved on. And there was a lot of police activity, and a man who appeared to be in his 20s, tall, wearing a white t-shirt, scraggly-looking hair and beard, striking similarity to Tsarnaev, he had driven his van in front of the courthouse, the car had no license plates at all, and police actually found a meat cleaver inside that car. That man was taken away. He's currently in custody. We're waiting to see if or whether there will be charges filed against him. We don't know his name just yet, Jake.</s>TAPPER: A bizarre story. Deb Feyerick in Boston, thanks so much. The Charleston church massacre quickly led to calls to take down the Confederate flag from the grounds of the South Carolina capitol. Now, cross the countries others are calling for license plates, statues, and General Lee, not the guy General Lee, but the Dodge Charger from the TV Show "The Dukes of Hazzard". Which is the line to be drawn? Today, a shocking revelation from the White House about just how many Americans are held hostage right now around the world. All of that, coming back.