Boston wrong?

I'm opposed to the death penalty as a matter of principle.  I have to admit, however, that if you wanted to make a case for state-sponsored execution, you could do a lot worse than cite the trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the cowardly, unrepentant Boston bomber.

Massachusetts is a non-death-penalty state, but Tsarnaev's trial was a Federal matter, and the Department of Justice pushed for the maximum penalty.  The jury duly agreed, but it still seems like a mistake. The last Federal execution took place in 2003. It's very likely that we're about to embark on an endless series of appeals, every one of which will throw more light on Tsarnaev's "cause". In the event that he ever is executed, his "martyrdom" may well inspire others to take up the battle.

Far better, surely, to let him rot in jail. It's not as if the US is lacking in perfectly abominable places for this criminal to spend the rest of his life.  Leavenworth?  Angola? I won't be weeping any tears if Tsarnaev does end up getting the lethal injection -- though reportedly, some of the jurors were weeping as sentence was pronounced on Thursday -- but I'd be much happier if the world didn't hear any more about him for a good long time.

Here's a good piece on the subject from Seth Stevenson at Slate.