Just over two years after the Boston Marathon bombing and the manhunt that ensued to find suspects Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and his brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been sentenced to death.

After a long trial that brought 150 witnesses to the stand, Tsarnaev was convicted for his actions that resulted in four deaths during and in the aftermath of the marathon. The sentencing portion of the trial began on April 21.

On May 15, Tsarnaev was sentenced to death by lethal injection. He showed no visible reaction when the decision was read, according to CNN.

The decision comes amid a rising debate over the death penalty, which is illegal in 18 states.

This debate has intensified nationally, and at Staples.

Remy Laifer ’17 has mixed feelings on the issue, as he believes the death penalty is wrong; however, because of the circumstances of this case, he understands the jurors’ thinking.

“One man should not be killed as [retribution] for having killed another. Two wrongs don’t make a right,” Laifer said. “But I think this case was very extreme, and maybe because of that he had to die.”

Nicole Kiker ’17, however, fully believes in the consequences of the decision.

“I think that although the death penalty can be viewed as harsh in some cases, this was definitely the right call for the Boston bombing because of the fact that it was a terrorist attack,” she said.

Even though this sentiment is held by many, some students, like Alex Uman ’16, feel the penalty is too strong, and that the death penalty should be illegal.

“Tsarnaev is a criminal who deserves the utmost punishment for what he did,” Uman said. “Regardless though, I disagree with the death penalty, and I don’t think it is a practice that should be upheld in a modern society.”

Despite this debate and controversy over the death penalty, the 12 jurors unanimously sentenced Tsarnaev to death. Tsarnaev will wait to be transferred to a federal prison to await his execution.