The law does not require that there be a connection between the mitigating evidence and the crime committed. It is not necessary for example, for the defense to prove that adverse circumstances in the defendant’s childhood or family background caused him to commit the offense. Whether any given mitigating factor had a direct connection to the crime does not affect its status as a mitigating circumstance that you are required to consider.

The defense needs to prove mitigating factors by a preponderance of the evidence.

***

Clarke: I come before you to ask you to choose life.

...."I need to talk with you about Jahar, but before I do..." I must tell you this story is not about Tamerlan and Dzhokhar.... This story is about the tragedy of the brothers' making.

"The story of the Boston marathon bombing" is about the strength and resilience of those who were affected by that horrific act.

... But now you have to decide who Tsarnaev was, who he is, "and who he might become."

Clarke: Tsarnaev doesn't want your sympathy; that belongs with the victims and families. But please try to understand him.

Clarke: Tsarnaev's parents were troubled; there were "mixed reviews" about his mother and her behavior.

Clarke: Zubeidat had great plans for Tamerlan, "but where was Jahar through all this?" He was the quiet kid, working hard, doing homework.

Clarke shows jurors pictures of Tsarnaev dancing in his grade-school classroom, smiling. His teachers loved him, saw great promise in him.

Jurors are all listening intently to Clarke, as she makes sure she shows the photo of Tsarnaev holding his teacher's newborn baby

Clarke: "But where was Dzhokhar's dad?" Dzhokhar "was the invisible kid", ignored by his father who preferred Tamerlan the boxer.

Clarke reads from the college recommendation letter the jury has already seen, written by one of Tsarnaev's high school teachers.

Clarke: Tsarnaev did model UN, helped disabled kids, wrestled. But "he seemed to do high school on his own." Parents were no-shows.

Clarke: Tsarnaev's parents were splitting up, Tamerlan was studying conspiracy theories, his mom embraces conservative religious views.

Clarke shows jury the US reports they've already seen, confirming Tsarnaev's mom and brother were subjects of investigation for radicalism.

Clarke: Meantime, Anzor Tsarnaev, the dad, was becoming "more and more disabled", mentally unstable... Clarke reviews Anzor's terrible and lengthy mental health problems. This was Dzhokhar's dad, she says.

But Tsarnaev still had friends; you saw some of them. They call him "sweet, shy, and goofy". He was respectful to girls.

Clarke: Tsarnaev's friends, wrestling team buddies, coach - none would ever have thought he was capable of the bombings.

Clarke: The one constant in Tsarnaev's life? He was "the invisible child."

2012 "was a remarkably unsettling year for Dzhokhar." Brother goes to Russia to seek jihad, his parents separated.

Clarke: Tsarnaev's mom goes to Russia in 9/2012 for good, and chooses not to support or guide her younger son. He's left alone with Tamleran

Clarke: Tamerlan had charisma, was bigger, older. As in many families, a younger brother will revere his older brother, esp. w/ Chechens.

Clarke: "So we need to talk about Tamerlan" even if the government wants to minimize him. "Tamerlan did influence Dzhokhar."

Clarke: The story of the Boston Marathon bombing cannot be realistically told without Tamerlan

Clarke: Tamerlan was a skilled boxer, but he couldn't go to the Olympics, he didn't hold a job, stopped going to school; things went wrong.

Clarke shows photo of Tamerlan and wife, Katherine Russell, saying she is another example of Tamerlan's incredible power/influence over people

That's it for me for now, I have to get to court myself. For more, check out reporter Jim Armstrong.

Update: More from Judy Clarke's closing (via Armstrong):

Clarke: "We are asking you to choose life. Yes, even for the Boston Marathon bomber."

Clarke: You've heard it - if this isn't a case for the death penalty, what is? But that comes from a place of pain.

Clarke: But there is no punishment that can balance these scales.

Clarke: Life in prison "doesn't dishonor the victims in this case."

Clarke: Tsarnaev will die under bleak conditions, with no fame and no attention, and no glory or stature that martyrdom might bring.

Clarke: The gov't claims Tsarnaev was motivated to bomb the marathon by an eye-for-an-eye mentality. Is that who we also are?

Clarke: Life in prison "reflects justice and mercy" and allows for redemption.

On Supermax:

Clarke: "Let's get real, this isn't a club. It isn't a resort. This is the most rigid, punitive prison in America."

Clarke: This is a prison where 29 grown men vie for the job that lets them scrub the showers.

Clarke: No one can give you "a 100% guarantee" #Tsarnaev will always stay in the H-unit there, but the people at this table will decide.

Clarke: Dzhokhar Tsarnaev will die in prison. The question is when or how.

On weighing the factors:

Clarke: You have an obligation to discuss & hear each other's views. "But the law values life and you have no obligation to vote for death."

Clarke: You can find 1 mitigating factor outweighs every aggravating one. Or, find there are no mitigating factors and still not impose death.

On the aggravating factors:

Clarke: All those aggravating factors on the verdict form? "Check them off." You already know they apply.... But now, consider the mitigating ones.

Clarke: you'll have to ask yourselves, is there hope for Tsarnaev?