The Boston marathon bomber Dzhokar Tsarnaev will get his chance to speak in court today before the judge in the case formally sentences him to death.
The outcome of Wednesday's sentencing hearing is not in doubt after the jury in the case recommended the death penalty.
But for the bomber and for the relatives of his victims, the hearing offers one last chance to speak.
Our US Correspondent Simon Marks reports.
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During his trial, Dzhokar Tsarnaev remained steadfastly silent, showing little emotion even through graphic testimony about the way in which he and his brother killed and maimed.
Now, the judge in the case is legally bound to impose a death sentence in keeping with the jury's recommendation.
But what's less clear is whether Tsarnaev will break his silence….he will be given an opportunity to speak, and some members of his legal team have previously claimed that privately he's expressed remorse for his role in the bombing.
Victims and the families of the dead will also get a chance to talk, before the death sentence is formally passed.
Karen Brassard suffered serious injuries in the blast.
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Many in Boston still oppose the death sentence that will be handed down later today.
In a city known for its politically liberal views, you can find this opinion more readily expressed on the streets than it was by members of the jury.
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But that debate ended last month, when the jury made its recommendation.
All that remains now is for the judge to make it official…and then 21 year old Dzhokar Tsarnaev will join 61 other inmates on Federal Death Row in Terre Haute, Indiana….beginning what could be a long wait for his date with a US government executioner.
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