Boston bomber gets death sentence

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev

A US jury yesterday sentenced Boston bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to death by lethal injection.

After 14 hours of deliberation, the jury of five men and seven women came to its decision.

Three people were killed and 260 were injured when Tsarnaev, now 21, and his brother placed bombs at the finishing line of the Boston Marathon in 2013.

Victims and their family members sobbed as the sentence was read. Tsarnaev bowed his head but showed no emotion.

Jurors made findings on 12 factors that would support the death penalty and 21 mitigating factors his defence said supported a life in prison verdict.

The jury's decision had to be unanimous Tsarnaev to receive a death sentence.

Seven of 30 charges Tsarnaev was convicted of allow the possibility of the death penalty.

Years of appeals are likely for Tsarnaev, whose legal team argued repeatedly to have the case moved from Boston, Massachusetts.

The defence said it would be impossible for Tsarnaev to receive a fair trial in Boston.

Tsarnaev's lawyers had admitted he played a role in the attacks but said that his older brother, Tamerlan - shot dead by police in the subsequent manhunt - was the driving force.