Boston Bombing Trial: Jury Sees Video of Tsarnaev Making Obscene Gesture to Camera

The jurors who will decide whether Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is sentenced to death for the Boston Marathon bombings were shown a video on Wednesday in which he gave the middle finger to a camera in a courthouse cell.

The video was recorded in July 2013, less than three months after the attack. It was introduced by the defense in the penalty phase of Tsarnaev’s trial in Boston. It also shows him making a “V” gesture and appearing to fix his hair.

A federal prosecutor mentioned the middle-finger gesture in her opening statement on Tuesday, describing Tsarnaev as unrepentant after the bombings.

IN-DEPTH

• Penalty Phase Focuses on Slain MIT Officer
• Worst Nightmare: Prosecutor Urges Death for Tsarnaev

— Tom Winter, Andy Thibault and Erin McClam