Parents of Martin Richard against death penalty for Boston Marathon bomber

The family of the eight-year-old boy killed in the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013 said in aneditorial published online Thursday night they would like to see the man convicted in the attack spared the death penalty.

Bill and Denise Richard said their preference would be for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole, waiving his rights to appeal. The comments by the Richards appeared in an editorial in the Boston Globe entitled: "To end the anguish, drop the death penalty."

"As long as the defendant is in the spotlight, we have no choice but to live a story told on his terms, not ours," they wrote. "The minute the defendant fades from our newspapers and TV screens is the minute we begin the process of rebuilding our lives and our family."

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The 21-year-old ethnic Chechen was convicted on all 30 counts he faced on April 8. Jurors are set to decide beginning Tuesday whether he should be sentenced to life in prison or death.

Tsarnaev's older brother, Tamerlan, died following a shootout with police days after the attacks.

The attack killed eight-year-old Martin Richard, who according to the medical examinersuffered massive injuries to his torso. Bill Richard testified during the trial about making the agonizing decision of leaving his dying son with his wife to go and help their daughter.

Jane Richard, then seven years old, would require her left leg amputated.

"We know that the government has its reasons for seeking the death penalty, but the continued pursuit of that punishment could bring years of appeals and prolong reliving the most painful day of our lives," the Richards said in the Globe editorial. "We hope our two remaining children do not have to grow up with the lingering, painful reminder of what the defendant took from them, which years of appeals would undoubtedly bring."

U.S. Attorney for Boston Carmen Ortiz says she is aware of the Richards' view but cannot comment on the specifics.

"But as I have previously assured both Bill and Denise, I care deeply about their views and the views of the other victims and survivors," Ortiz said.

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, a friend of the Richard family, tells WBZ-AM he respects their point of view.

Martin Richard was one of three people killed when twin pressure-cooker bombs exploded near the finish line of the marathon on April 15, 2013. More than 260 people were injured, including at least 16 who lost legs.

Lingzi Lu, a 23-year-old Boston University student from China, and Krystle Campbell, a 29-year-old restaurant manager, also died.

Sean Collier, a 27-year-old Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer, was shot and killed in the manhunt that followed.

After Collier's killing, the Tsarnaevs had a shootout with police in Watertown, Mass. Tamerlan Tsarnaev died following the gunfight, being run over by Dzhokhar as he fled in a vehicle. Dzhokhar was found hours later wounded and hiding in a boat parked in a residential backyard.

Collier's sister,Jennifer Lemmerman, has expressed opposition to the death penalty in posts on Facebook that have since been taken down.

Some relatives of other victims have said they support the death penalty.

During the trial, the defenceadmitted that the younger Tsarnaev helped carry out the attack, but argued he was under the influence of his brother, who was older by seven years.