Boston Bomber Speaks: ‘I am sorry for the lives that I’ve taken…’

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the 21-year-old who along with his brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev perpetrated the bombing attacks at the Boston Marathon on April 13, 2015, spoke to the victims in court on Wednesday, apparently apologizing for the pain he caused.

“If there is any lingering doubt … I did it along with my brother,” he said about Tamerlan, who was killed in a shootout with police. “I ask Allah to have mercy on me, my brother and my family.”

“I am sorry for the lives that I’ve taken, for the suffering that I’ve caused you, for the damage that I’ve done. Irreparable damage,” he continued.

“I prayed for Allah to bestow his mercy upon the deceased, those affected in the bombing and their families. Allah says in the Quran that with every hardship there is relief. I pray for your relief, for your healing, for your well-being, for your strength,” said Tsarnaev.

Judge George O’Toole sentenced Tsarnaev to death, backing what a federal jury had already imposed.

“Whenever your name is mentioned, what will be remembered is the evil you did,” said O’Toole. “What will be remembered is that you murdered and maimed innocent people and that you did it willfully and intentionally. You did it on purpose.”

“Surely someone who believes that God smiles on and rewards the deliberate killing and maiming of innocents believes in a cruel God,” continued O’Toole. “That is not, it cannot be, the God of Islam. Anyone who has been led to believe otherwise has been maliciously and willfully deceived.”