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Poll: Most Bostonians oppose death penalty for marathon bomber

By Thor Benson

BOSTON, April 27 (UPI) -- According to a new poll, most Boston and Massachusetts residents oppose the death penalty for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

The Boston Globe poll found that fewer than 20 percent of Massachusetts residents supported the death penalty for the Boston Marathon bomber. Only 15 percent of Boston residents believe he should be executed. One-third of Massachusetts residents and one-quarter of Boston residents believe execution is typically appropriate for egregious crimes.

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"It seems that voters have concluded that Tsarnaev does not deserve a quick death, but rather should spend the remainder of his days in a windowless cell contemplating the heinous acts that put him there," Frank Perullo, president of Sage Systems LLC, which conducted the poll, told the Globe. "To voters, it would seem death is too easy an escape."

Tsarnaev, 21, was found guilty on 30 counts for the 2013 bombing that killed three and injured 260. His defense team is fighting for a life sentence with no chance of parole, as opposed to a death sentence. He will only get the death sentence if all jurors agree on it.

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