Dzhokhar Tsarnaev should not face the death penalty

There are two fundamental reasons why the death penalty should not be imposed in this case. The first is the obverse of the argument that if anyone deserves the death penalty, it is this defendant. That may will be true. But it follows that if this defendant does not deserve the death penalty, then no one does. …

Seeking the death penalty against Tsarnaev, and imposing it if he were to be convicted, would turn him into a martyr. His face would appear on recruiting posters for suicide bombers. The countdown toward his execution might well incite other acts of terrorism. Those seeking paradise through martyrdom would see him as a role model.

Whether the death penalty actually deters crime has been long debated. I have little doubt that some criminals may well be deterred by the prospect of execution rather than life imprisonment, though I am not certain how many. But I also have little doubt that some defendants, especially those motivated by ideological extremism, may be incentivized by the prospect of martyrdom. …

In the end, this case is more likely to be about whether Tsarnaev lives or dies than about whether he is guilty of this monstrous crime. If he planted the bomb, Tsarnaev chose death. We should respond by choosing life.