1,000 Words: Tsarnaev’s letter

Hiding from police in a boat hours after he and his brother planted the Boston Marathon finish line bombs, Dzkhokhar A. Tsarnaev wrote in pencil that he believed his Islamic faith permitted the killing of innocents in defense of other Muslims, a police officer testified Tuesday.

This undated forensics photograph provided by the U.S. Attorney's office and presented as evidence during the federal death penalty trial of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Tuesday, March 10, 2015, in Boston, shows handwriting on the bullet-riddled, blood-stained wall of a boat. The prosecution presented the photo as evidence of the handwritten note found inside the boat where Tsarnaev was captured April 19, 2013 in Watertown, Mass., four days after the bombings. (AP Photo/U.S. Attorney's Office)

About the blogger

Bob Collins

bcollins@mpr.org • @newscut

Bob Collins retired from Minnesota Public Radio in 2019 after 12 years of writing NewsCut and pointing out to complainants that posts weren’t news stories. A son of Massachusetts, he was a news editor 1992-1998, created the MPR News regional website in 1999, invented the popular Select A Candidate, started several blogs, and every day lamented that his Minnesota Fantasy Legislature project never caught on.