Dzhokhar Tsarnaev appeared in court on Wednesday to be formally sentenced to death for his role in the Boston Marathon bombing, and victims and families of the victims were there to speak to him.  Patricia Campbell, who lost a daughter in the bombing, was the first person to give a victim impact statement.  “I know life is hard,” she told Mr. Tsarnaev, “but the choices that you made were despicable and what you did to my daughter was disgusting.”  In April, Mr. Tsarnaev, 21, was convicted of all 30 counts against him for the 2013 attack, which was the worst act of terrorism on American soil since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. In May, a federal jury handed down a death sentence for Mr. Tsarnaev, which caused some Boston residents to question whether the punishment was too harsh. The bombing killed three people and injured more than 240 others. Seventeen people lost at least one limb in the attack.  Mr. Tsarnaev addressed the victims and families on Wednesday.  “I’ve learned their names, their faces, their age, and throughout this trial, more of the victims were given names,” he said to the courtroom.  Jess Bidgood, a reporter for The Times, was at the hearing and posted the victims’ statements on Twitter. Some of her latest posts are below, beginning with the most recent; follow her on Twitter for more.  Judge O’Toole has formally sentenced #Tsarnaev to death. He has been escorted out of the court in handcuffs. This trial is over.  #Tsarnaev also said, “I am guilty of the bombing.” He has finished speaking, and sits down.  “I was listening,” #Tsarnaev says, of the testimony in the courtroom. Says he heard strength, patience, dignity.  Of victims, “I’ve learned their names, their faces, their age, and throughout this trial, more of the victims were given names,” #Tsarnaev.  “I’d like to now apologize to the victims and the survivors,” #Tsarnaev says.  “I ask forgiveness of Allah,” and his creation, says #Tsarnaev.  #Tsarnaev stands. “I would like to begin in the name of Allah…"  This is the first time #Tsarnaev will speak publicly since the bombings, aside from saying “not guilty” at his arraignment.  #Tsarnaev will address the court, says his lawyer, Judy Clarke.  Officers are searching car outside of courthouse and a man has been led away in handcuffs. An officer could be seen holding a meat cleaver.  Victim impact statements end on Rebekah Gregory’s defiant note. Now, prosecutor William Weinreb is speaking. #Tsarnaev  “Choosing to mess with us was a terrible idea,” says Gregory. "So hows that for your *victim* impact statement?” #Tsarnaev  Rebekah Gregory, amputee, tells #Tsarnaev to listen closely. "Do you know what mass destruction really does? It brings people together.”  Rebekah Gregory, amputee, tells #Tsarnaev to listen closely. "Do you know what mass destruction really does? It brings people together.”  “He tweeted, ‘Ain’t no love in the heart of the city.' He couldn’t have been more wrong,” says Abbott. #Tsarnaev  Heather Abbott, who lost a leg, steps to the microphone. “I didn’t care much about what happened to the defendant,” she said. #Tsarnaev  Liz Norden, mother of Paul and JP, who each lost a leg, says that after 2 long years, she still doesn’t understand #Tsarnaev’s motive.  Liz Norden, mother of Paul and JP, who each lost a leg, says that after 2 long years, she still doesn’t understand #Tsarnaev’s motive.  Ed Fucarile, dad of amputee, "You’ve taken lives and severely damaged bodies, including my son Marc’s, but you haven’t broken his spirit.”  Bauman lost both legs. “I worry every day about Jeffrey, who still does not find comfort in his prosthetic legs,” says his aunt. #Tsarnaev  Jennifer Maybury remembers seeing famous, bloody photo of her nephew, Jeff Bauman. “Will he ever be the same? Will our family?” #Tsarnaev  Courtroom 9 is filling up again after a short break. We’ve heard from 17 victims and survivors so far. #Tsarnaev  We're hearing some lesser-known stories of victims today: A student who dropped out, a doctor who can’t hear a stethoscope now. #Tsarnaev  “I hope you own all this grief and anguish for the rest of your life,” says Jeanne-Marie Parker. Calls for #Tsarnaev to show remorse.  During trial, survivor witnesses often called #Tsarnaev “the defendant,” if anything. Today, some victims use his first or last name.  “I want to say that I truly believe that love is and always will be louder,” says Borgard. #Tsarnaev  Henry Borgard steps up next. “This lovely service dog next to me is my girl Friday.” #Tsarnaev  As these survivors speak, #Tsarnaev sits still. Often seems to train his gaze toward the floor.  Survivors’ statements today show differences in views on sentence. Richard family called for life; Patricia Campbell said jury was right.  Bill Richard, father of Martin: "He could have stopped his brother. He could have changed his mind the morning of April 15, 2013.”  “I will toast whiskey in his honor,” says Jennifer Rogers, sister of MIT police officer Sean Collier, “and cry with grown men.” #Tsarnaev  Now, Sean Collier's family. His sister speaks as his stepfather holds his photo. "There’s an emptiness that I cannot manage to fill.”  Now, Sean Collier's family. His sister speaks as his stepfather holds his photo. "There’s an emptiness that I cannot manage to fill.”  “If you were truly remorseful,” McWatters says, “now is the time you can say you were sorry and mean it."  Karen McWatters, who lost a leg, lay by Krystle Campbell as she died: “My grief over her loss has been the hardest part of my recovery."  "I know life is hard, but the choices that you made were despicable and what you did to my daughter was disgusting,” says Patricia Campbell.  #Tsarnaev turns his chair toward the Campbell family, whose daughter Krystle was killed in bombing, as they deliver first impact statement.  #Tsarnaev is wearing a dark suit, and his hair is longer and messier than it was during his trial.  Survivors of the bombing have filed into the courtroom — and #Tsarnaev enters, chats animatedly with attorney Miriam Conrad.
Before he was given a formal death sentence on Wednesday, families of the victims gave statements, one calling his Dzhokhar Tsarnaev‘s actions “disgusting.”