Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev is likely to avoid the death penalty, could entirely avoid a trial and in the hands of the right lawyer might win a modicum of mercy, argued top-ranked defense attorneys who have represented some of the nation’s most notorious terrorists and killers.

“We know he’s 19 years old, we don’t think he has a criminal record or been in trouble before. There are a lot of people out there that seem to have warm, positive things about him,” said Tamar Birckhead, whose client, Richard Reed, tried to blow an airliner out of the sky but got life by copping a plea. “To predict he’ll get a life sentence is not unreasonable.”

Stephen Jones’ Oklahoma City bomber client Timothy McVeigh got death, but he said he believes the baby-faced Tsarnaev can pin the Boston Marathon and last week’s deadly final rampage on his slain big brother and seek mercy as a kid who was easily swayed.

“If the younger brother can shed any light on the circumstances of the older brother’s alleged involvement,” said Jones, “that’s valuable information that the government would want.”