Marathon Bombing Survivor Marc Fucarile on Death Penalty for Tsarnaev: ‘I’m Undecided’
Every day is a physical struggle for Stoneham’s Marc Fucarile. And making the call on the proper penalty for convicted Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is a struggle for Fucarile as well.
Fucarile — whose right leg was blown off in the bombing — had been attending the trial, which has now moved to the penalty phase for the convicted bomber, for Tsarnaev. Fucarile is currently in Bethesda, Maryland preparing for more surgery on his left leg.
In an interview with WEEI’s “Dennis and Callahan Show’’ on Tuesday, Fucarile was asked if he would call for the death penalty or life in prison for the convicted bomber of he were part of the jury.
“To be honest, I don’t know,’’ Fucarile said. “I really don’t know. I really don’t know what I’d do. That is a tough decision they’re going to have to make. I kind of sway both ways. I think our death penalty… it’s tough. I think the way we put people down is a little too easy. We actually put dogs down like that because it’s humane. So, I’m undecided. I think it would be more torturous for him to sit in prison and being such a young man and having to stay there the rest of his life. I think that would be pretty torturous.
“But, at the same time, what do you actually have to do in this country to get the death penalty if this guy doesn’t get it? He terrorized a city, dropped a bomb, killed little Martin Richard, killed Lingzi Lu, and injured hundreds of people, and executed a cop and went on a wild chase. Hijacked a guy. What do you actually have to do to get the death penalty? That’s why I kind of sway both ways. I’m undecided.’’
Fucarile was asked if he knew why Tsarnaev was fighting so hard to live — through the efforts his defense team has gone through in the trial — if death would be “easier’’ for him as has been speculated.
“That’s just another part of it,’’ Fucarile said. “You see him and I hear, ‘He doesn’t want to die.’ You hear that. But do you really know? And I don’t necessarily care what he wants. America needs to make either a statement saying, ‘You do this, you die.’ Or we make a statement saying, ‘We don’t want to put you to sleep, because it’s too easy, and we want you to [be] tortured.’ And that’s the decision that, unfortunately, the jury has to make, and I wouldn’t want to be a part of that jury because you can never make everybody happy.
“And that’s another thing, those protestors out there — pick a different location. Go down to city hall and protest. Get away from the front door. And if there’s anybody out there listening to the radio, go down there and tell those people to be gone. Do me a favor. That’d be huge for all of us survivors. To have to walk by that and deal with that and see that and hear about it, it’s unacceptable in this country. They should be ashamed. Go protest of the stairs of the White House or wherever — city hall. Wherever they want to go, but just get away from the court. We don’t need to hear these people. I understand, but just go somewhere else.’’
Fucarile said the bombing will leave him forever traumatized. “I’m just upset that he’s a coward, and they actually succeeded in killing people, and hurting little children, like Leo [Woolfenden], who got hurt that day,’’ Fucarile said. “I’m just going to be traumatized forever and little Jane Richard, losing her leg, six years old, c’mon. She didn’t deserve that. That’s what upsets me because I’ve got a little boy, and if my boy was there let me tell you, he’d be dead by now.’’
Fucarile also hared his thoughts on taxpayers footing the bill for the Tsarnaev family members who are here to testify on behalf of the convicted bomber
“That’s the taxpayer’s money, all of ours,’’ Fucarile said. “I think it’s ridiculous, to be honest. I think it’s absolutely absurd. Our country and the people that are even considering that and doing that, signing that paperwork should be ashamed. This is a convicted terrorist. He got found guilty on 30 charges. He executed a police officer. Him and his brother. Their rights should be stripped of them. I’d love to be in government. I’d straighten everybody out.’’
Fucarile said the support he’s received from his friends and family is what keeps him going every day.
“It’s a choice, you just choose to do it,’’ Fucarile said. “I have a 7-year old boy and a wife, a family and all the support. The support — everybody is supporting you. You don’t want to let them down as well. It’s also a chance and opportunity to encourage others. That’s why you do it.’’
Fucarile was in Bethesda, Maryland preparing for more surgery on his left leg. Fucarile has endured more than 60 surgeries and may eventually lose his left leg.
“They’re in favor of keeping it, unless the pain doesn’t get fixed,’’ Fucarile said. “If the pain doesn’t get fixed, then it’s going to be a big, big decision because if the pain doesn’t go away after a few corrective surgeries, then the option comes to take [my left leg] off for quality of living, and unfortunately in my situation, I was just told in pre-op yesterday at the hospital that I would definitely be above the knee, double-amputee, if I could’t live with it.
“I deal with other things on the back of my legs that are severely burnt and skin graphed, so it would be pretty difficult for me to get two prosthetics to fit properly without the skin breakdown that I am already enduring on my right leg. I am actually going in for three surgeries on May 5, minimum.’’
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