Looking at the picture I see a happier older brother who was still just a big brother. The letter does explain a lot but I have written college letters for others and often write what I believe will be the right cord to get them accepted. You will note the lack of complaint against America. Rather, you see mention of Russia and how horrible the people are being treated. Reading this I would suspect that his Mother would be the one placing a bomb over in her country, not in Boston. Dzhokhar acted more American, shooting pool, smoking some weed, etc. But he was part of a family that molded his beliefs and although it might not have been his plan to kill a bunch of innocent people, he went along with the bombing plan to please his family members. Maybe he just got caught up with the excitement of doing something to bring attention to their plight.

However, I can't feel any sympathy for Tsarnaev.  No matter how hard I try.  He has shown no regret.  What he did was the definition of evil.  I have more sympathy for the insane.

In Saudi Arabia there's major effort being put into programs to prevent young people from becoming terrorists.  

I am anti death penalty, anti LWOP and anti solitary confinement.  I wish American society was interested in rehabilitating people rather than punishing them - which is all people care about.  People can change - and do.  Whenever I hear about another execution carried out in this country, I cringe inside.  I feel as though we're perpetuating the violence and creating even more bad "karma" for our country.

The parents of Martin Richard -- the 8-year-old boy killed in the Boston Marathon bombing -- are urging prosecutors to end their quest to have convicted attacker Dzhokhar Tsarnaev executed, saying that the potentially drawn-out process could prolong the anguish for victims and their families.

"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 parents wrote. "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."

  Now, I do think the fact I am the oldest and he is the "baby" of the family still has some effect on the dynamic of our relationship even though we are middle aged. Is he more likely to defer to me than vice versa? that might well be the case. I take the lead in things like arranging care for my mom and decision-making concerning property and things like that.

If, while looking out toward the camera, Dzokhar kept one eye monitoring his brother, or held his head down indicating submission, I would read the photo as evidence of domination. But he looks broadly out at the camera, not apparently overly concerned with the older sibling at his side.

The timing of this is really unfortunate, it's going to be hard to avoid all marathon coverage.  It's one of those events that takes over the city.