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Massachusetts
The Court explained that Massachusetts law did not provide a death penalty, but federal law permitted that potential punishment for some charges against Tsarnaev. On Day 48, the Court excluded evidence or argument about Massachusetts's lack of a death penalty because it did not concern the defendant's background, character, or the circumstances of the crime. Christian Fierabend also testified that three cash purchases of four-quart Fagor Elite pressure cookers from Macy's occurred in Massachusetts, two in Boston and one in Saugus.
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The distinction between Massachusetts and federal law explained the potential capital punishment on certain charges and became a disputed mitigation issue that the Court excluded from the penalty phase.