Green Bay News

GREEN BAY – Northeast Wisconsin Technical College held a job fair Monday for those looking for work.

Congressman Reid Ribble hosted the fifth annual job fair to give those looking for jobs an opportunity to meet with employers.

Some of the companies in attendance were from industries such as health care, manufacturing and retail.

Employers say it’s a great way to inform the new generation about important employment topics.

John Goodman from Security-Luebke Roofing, says, “I think benefits and a good place to work has always been (important) and even with this new generation of people, they are looking at that. I’m surprised to find now many of the new generation of workers are not plugged into knowing about retirement benefits and the value of educational assistance and so that’s one thing we are really promoting here at the show.”

Participation in the fair was free of charge for both employers and those looking to be hired.

 

GREEN BAY — Mike Daniels has seen the film of the Packers’ last game over and over again in the offseason.

A stunning collapse in the NFC title contest to Seattle can be hard to forget.

On Monday came time to officially look ahead for Green Bay with the start of offseason workouts at Lambeau Field.

Daniels has watched the Seattle tape. He’s hoping to improve by recognizing his mistakes.

“You have to learn from it and seeing how that’s the last game of the season, you don’t get a chance to go over it and evaluate it as a group. So guys find some time to watch it, break it down and move past it,” said Daniels, one of the leaders on the defensive line.

There’s a lot of great learning points from it, just like any other game. So that’s the way we have to take it, and the next game is the next week,” Daniels said.

It’s more like five more months until the start of a new season. The broader point from Daniels and receiver Randall Cobb on Monday was that the team is moving on.

It’s understandable, though, why the 28-22 loss might still sting with fans.

Green Bay led 16-0 at halftime, and 19-7 with 10:53 left in the game. The Packers still led by five with 2:09 remaining even after quarterback Russell Wilson’s 1-yard touchdown run.

An onside kick slipped through the hands of Green Bay’s Brandon Bostick and Seattle regained possession. Plenty of other plays contributed to the meltdown.

Seattle Seahawks’ Jermaine Kearse catches the game winning touchdown pass against Green Bay Packers’ Tramon Williams during overtime of the NFL football NFC Championship game, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2015, in Seattle. The Seahawks won 28-22 to advance to Super Bowl XLIX. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Three months into the offseason, the Packers have regrouped following the setback in Seattle. One of the few times that the game has been brought up since then was Monday by reporters asking about the loss.

“We haven’t talked about it. Nobody’s really bringing it up. We’re focusing on handling business this season,” Cobb said. “New beginnings, so this is Day 1 in the process.”

The offseason program is about brushing up on the playbook, as well as focusing on getting faster, quicker or stronger. The atmosphere in the locker room might be akin to how students catch up with each other on the first day of class after summer break.

Cobb, who played college ball at Kentucky, got some good-natured grief from teammates and former Wisconsin players Scott Tolzien and Jared Abbrederis after the basketball Badgers beat the Wildcats in the Final Four.

“Yeah, I have, and that was the first thing that I heard from everybody, of course. Yeah. I don’t really want to talk about that,” he joked.

Cobb is back after agreeing to a four-year, $40 million deal last month. The Packers did let some veterans go on defense: cornerback Tramon Williams signed with Cleveland, long-time inside linebackers A.J. Hawk and Brad Jones were cut.

Those positions figure to be focal points of next week’s draft, when the Packers will pick 30th in the first round.

General manager Ted Thompson did bring back beef and experience on the line by re-signing tackles B.J. Raji and Letroy Guion to one-year deals. Raji returns after missing 2014 following a biceps injury in the preseason.

Guion turned into a key piece on the defense in place of Raji. But his return appeared to be thrown into question after being charged in connection with a traffic stop in Starke, Florida in February. The case was resolved last month, with Guion entering a no contest plea to a drug charge.

As far as Daniels is concerned, it’s time to move on with Guion, too.

“He said, ‘Hey, I made a mistake. I need to get back to work.’ That’s respectful. He already owned up to it,” Daniels said. “He just made a mistake and we’re past that. It’s time to get to work and he’s been working.”

The political spotlight remained on New Hampshire Monday. Hillary Clinton, the only Democrat to announce a White House bid, campaigned in Keene.

Her stop in the early voting state comes two days after a Republican party event there. That gathering included declared and potential GOP candidates, like Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker.

The campaigning is intensifying for some as yet another poll finds a toss-up on the Republican side.

Clinton sat down with small business owners on her first trip to New Hampshire as a declared 2016 candidate.

“Small business is the backbone of the American economy,” said Clinton.

The former secretary of state says she plans to continue the conversation across the country to find the best way to revitalize the industry.

“My bottom line is we have gone through tough times and Americans have done everything they can think of to do to get through those tough times, but now it’s not enough to just tread water.”

When Republicans were in New Hampshire over the weekend, they focused a lot of their criticism on the former first lady.

“When Hillary Clinton travels, there’s going to need to be two planes: One for her and her entourage, and one for her baggage,” said Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul, a Kentucky Senator.

A new national CNN/ORC poll looked at hypothetical general election match-ups between Clinton and Republicans. All of the Republicans tested trail by a large margin.

Florida Senator Marco Rubio – also a declared candidate – fares best, trailing Clinton by 14 points. Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush is next closest with a 17 point gap.

• Click here to read all of the CNN/ORC poll results

UW-Green Bay political science professor David Helpap believes Clinton will keep her campaign relatively low key for now.

“She’s already the individual that the GOP is focusing all of its attention on, so the more that she can do behind the scenes the better,” said Helpap.

More Republican candidates will soon join the race.

“These individuals that are announcing early, (Texas Senator) Ted Cruz and others, they want to get that early fundraising advantage,” said Helpap. “They want to get people to back them early and often.”

Walker has not formally entered the race, but he told a Republican crowd in New Hampshire Sunday that he plans to visit the state often in the coming months.

“Should I be a candidate — not today. But should I be a candidate for president of the United States? That’s something I’ll lay out in greater detail in the coming months ahead,” said Walker.

Walker says he’s waiting to make an official announcement about 2016 until after the state budget process is finished.

Helpap says there are advantages and disadvantages to waiting. Drawbacks could include losses in fundraising, but Walker could benefit by waiting to see what the rest of the Republican field looks like.

“Building up some support without being in the public eye quite as much,” said Helpap. “Letting some of the initial fray play out. See who’s going to be in, who’s going to be out.”

Walker will keep visiting early voting states. He has another trip planned to Iowa this weekend.

More fears in Middle America over young men, leaving the country and taking up arms along the terror group, ISIL.

Arrests of four of the friends, came in Minnesota & two who’d made it to California, where they allegedly went to pick up fake passports, with plans of flying overseas from Mexico, in order to evade U.S. authorities.

“They were not confused young men.They were not easily influenced. These were focused men intent on joining a terrorist organization by any means possible,” said U.S. Attorney for Minnesota, Andrew Luger.

In the 31 page charging document, the suspects praised terrorists on their Facebook pages, and one tweeted:

“The American identity is dead. Even if I get caught” and “I’m through with America. Burn my ID” as is often the case, prosecutors allege, they were recruited, much of it, online. On Capitol Hill, a concern over how to minimize that reach.

“Well I think it’s a very important balance to keep, the internet has created wonderful opportunities for us but at the same time it’s allowed people with very hateful dangerous agendas to communicate as well,” said Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow.

This plot, broken up FBI agents say because one of the friends, originally planning to go to Syria, changed his mind, told the FBI and then recorded the conversations.

“What is remarkable about this case is that nothing stopped these defendants from pursuing their goal. They never stopped plotting another way to get to Syria to join ISIL,” said Luger.

 

While the FBI says these suspects were caught, authorities say they are learning new methods and ways in to Syria from others who’ve succeeded. In the past 2 years, some 20 Somali-Americans have left Minnesota, to join the fight.

 

 

MILWAUKEE – Music legend, Stevie Wonder, will headline the Marcus Amphitheater on Saturday, Jun. 27 at Summerfest.

Tickets for Stevie Wonder will go on sale Saturday, April 25 at 10:00 a.m. and include Summerfest admission.

For more ticket information, click here.

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Saudi-led airstrikes hit weapons caches held by Iran-backed Shiite rebels, touching off massive explosions Monday in Yemen’s capital that killed at least 19 people and buried scores of others under the rubble of flattened homes.

The U.S. Navy has dispatched the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt toward the waters off Yemen to join other American ships prepared to intercept any Iranian vessels carrying weapons to the rebels, U.S. officials said.

After the coalition airstrikes, mushroom clouds rose over the mountainous outskirts of Sanaa, where the arms depots are located. The Fag Atan area has been targeted several times since March 26, the start of the air campaign against the rebels known as Houthis.

“It was like the doors of hell opened all of a sudden,” said Mohammed Sarhan, whose home is less than 2 kilometers (1 mile) from the site. “I felt the house lift up and fall.”

The blasts — among the most powerful in Sanaa since the airstrikes began — deposited a layer of soot on the top floors of buildings in Sanaa and left streets littered with glass. Anti-aircraft fire rattled in response.

One bomb hit near the Iranian Embassy in Sanaa, drawing a sharp rebuke from Tehran.

Saudi Arabia and several of its allies, mainly Gulf Arab countries, have been trying to drive back the rebels, who seized Sanaa in September and have overrun many other northern provinces with the help of security forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh. The U.S. supports the Saudi campaign.

Western governments and Sunni Arab countries say the Houthis get their arms from Iran. Tehran and the rebels deny that, although the Islamic Republic has provided political and humanitarian support to the Shiite group.

The Houthis and Saleh’s forces have also advanced on the southern port of Aden, Yemen’s main sea hub, forcing President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi to flee the country last month. The Houthis and their allies have been trying to take over Aden for weeks.

The announcement that the USS Theodore Roosevelt was moving through the Arabian Sea toward the region comes amid reports that a convoy of Iranian ships may be headed toward Yemen to arm the Houthis.

There are about nine U.S. ships in the region, including cruisers and destroyers carrying teams that can board and search other vessels. The U.S. officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ship movement on the record.

One of Monday’s airstrikes hit dangerously close to the Iranian Embassy, shattering windows but causing no casualties among the staff, the Iranian state TV reported. Iran summoned the kingdom’s envoy in Tehran in protest.

Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian warned the Saudis to abide by their international obligations and respect diplomatic missions, the report said, adding that it held Riyadh responsible for the safety of its mission in Sanaa.

In a column in Monday’s New York Times, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called for a regional dialogue, and said “Yemen would be a good place to start.”

He noted that Iran had urged an immediate cease-fire, humanitarian aid and an “intra-Yemeni dialogue” leading to the formation of a national unity government.

In response to Zarif’s remarks, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said: “Are we looking for ways to work with our partners, with the Gulf countries, with other countries, to make the region more stable? Of course. Does that include Iran? You know, we’ve always said we won’t be coordinating with them on these issues.”

In the Fag Atan area, a 10-house village was destroyed in the explosions, according to witnesses who spoke on condition of anonymity because they fear for their safety. While some villagers had fled earlier, those who remained were believed to have been killed, they said.

Mohammed Saleh said he and his family fled in a friend’s car after his was destroyed in the strike. He said hospitals were packed with wounded.

Repair shop owner Saleh Haitham said he saw people running for shelter as rocks and shrapnel flew around them. Many posted videos and photographs of the explosions and damage on social media.

Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdel-Salam, denounced the airstrikes as a “crime that exposed the hatred and envy” of the Saudi-led coalition.

A Yemeni official said the airstrikes were hoping to destroy Scud missiles known to be at Fag Atan. Medical officials said 19 bodies were brought in to hospitals but many were buried under the debris and the death toll was expected to rise.

The official and the medics spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to media.

The Al-Masirah TV network, which is run by the Houthis, as well as the rebel-controlled Interior Ministry said at least 30 people — including Mohammed Shamsan, a TV presenter for another network and two of his crew members — were killed and hundreds were wounded. The casualty figures could not be independently confirmed.

The turmoil in Yemen has raised concerns that al-Qaida’s local branch, considered the most dangerous affiliate of the terrorist network, is exploiting the security and political vacuum. U.S. drone strikes targeting militants have been scaled back amid the chaos.

Earlier this month, al-Qaida militants overran Yemen’s largest province of Hadramawt. In its capital, the port city of Mukalla, the militants Monday formed an alliance with tribesmen to oversee the running of daily affairs and businesses.

Militants and tribesmen in joint groups known as “Sons of Hadramawt” will be guarding local government facilities, banks and the airport, local spokesman Lutfi bin Saadon told The Associated Press.

Fighting intensified Monday in Aden, with Houthis and Saleh loyalists battling youth militias and forces loyal to Hadi, who is in exile in Saudi Arabia. Clashes were underway near the Aden airport and in the central al-Arish district, witnesses said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they feared for their safety.

Coalition airstrikes targeted an Aden hotel suspected of being used by the Houthis and allied forces. All land lines and communications were cut amid the fighting.

Saudi Arabia’s Interior Ministry said a border guards was killed and two others were wounded from gunfire and mortar fire Sunday night from inside Yemen. The border guards were in the kingdom’s southern province of Najran, the ministry said. It did not specify who the attackers were.

___

Associated Press writer Lolita C. Baldor in Washington contributed to this report.

 

ROYAL OAK, Mich. (AP) – The Detroit Zoo is planning to turn abundant piles of animal manure into energy.

The zoo in the Detroit suburb of Royal Oak says Monday that construction on the anaerobic biodigester begins this spring and will be completed this year.

The biodigester will turn about 400 tons of manure a year as well as other organic waste into methane-rich gas. This gas will be used to help power the 18,000-square-foot Ruth Roby Glancy Animal Health Complex, saving $70,000 to $80,000 in annual energy costs.

The system also will convert manure into compost that will be used to fertilize animal habitats, gardens and public spaces.

As part of the effort, the Michigan Economic Development Corp. and the Detroit Zoological Society are conducting a crowdfunding campaign.

APPLETON – A Little Chute man who drove to Sun Prairie, brought a 16-year-old girl back to his home, and then sexually assaulted her, was convicted Monday.

Brian Hansmann pleaded no contest to child enticement, exposure, and having sex with a child 16 or older, according to the Outagamie County district attorney’s office. Seven other counts were dismissed. He will be sentenced June 15.

Fox Valley Metro Police say they found a missing 16-year-old Sun Prairie girl at Hansmann’s home in May of last year.

According to a criminal complaint, the girl told police she met Hansmann on meetme.com, telling him she was 19 years old. The girl said Hansmann picked her up in Sun Prairie, took her to his Little Chute home for the night, and had sex with her three times.

This Golden Apple instructor is smart with art, and her students say she is picture perfect.

Sarah Hoffmann starts each art class with a sketch of the day.  It gives her time to walk the room, peek at her students’ pictures, and give them feedback.

Hoffmann has been the art teacher at Pulaski Middle School her entire career.

“I hope I give them a sense of appreciation for the arts,” said Hoffmann, art teacher.

For nine years, she’s been guiding students through projects.

Recently she’s been working with other instructors, going to their classrooms, and incorporating art elements.

“I did a project with the eighth grade English teachers here.  And they did stories, and I created book covers.  And then the kids created their own book cover.  I love seeing the creativity that comes from the students.  It just shines when they’re in here,” said Hoffmann.

“She’s really nice.  I like her.  She’s fun.  She comes up with great ideas,” said Quailen Thao, seventh grade art student.

“She’s really nice.  She talks.  She interacts.  It’s just a really fun class.  She makes it fun,” said Sofia Fredrickson, seventh grade art student.

It is an art class.  So sometimes the projects can be kind of messy. But the students don’t seem to mind.

“I think it’s fun that way,” said Evelin Feutz, seventh grade art student.

“I think it’s pretty cool and fun,” Cameron Parr, seventh grade art student.

Hoffman says she gets just as much back as she gives.

“Absolutely.  This is the best job.  And I tell the kids it’s not really a job.  It’s what I love to do,” said Hoffmann.

Hoffmann is a Golden Apple recipient.  But to her students, she’s a masterpiece.

MADISON (AP) – Gov. Scott Walker has declared a state of emergency following an outbreak of the deadly bird flu in Wisconsin.

Walker on Monday authorized the Wisconsin National Guard to assist authorities responding to the bird flu in Jefferson, Juneau and Barron counties. That includes helping with the response and clean up once the infected birds are killed.

Walker says the state must act “quickly and efficiently to contain the outbreak and protect domestic poultry.”

State agriculture officials this month detected the virus for the first time in Wisconsin. It has been found in three flocks affecting tens of thousands of chickens and turkeys.

Authorities stress there was no risk to public health and no danger to the food supply from the highly pathogenic H5N2 strain.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Gov. Scott Walker has declared a state of emergency to deal with elevated wildfire conditions.

Walker issued the declaration Monday. It calls on all state agencies to assist in potential wildlife response and recovery efforts.

It also authorizes the Wisconsin National Guard’s adjutant general to call units to active duty as needed to help emergency management officials and the state Department of Natural Resources fight wildfires.

According to the DNR’s website Monday fire danger was considered low in every Wisconsin county.

Walker’s office said in a news release announcing the declaration, however, that much of the state has experienced abnormally dry weather that’s expected to continue through May. The declaration itself said the DNR has asked the National Guard for help pre-positioning fire equipment.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Utah woman who pleaded guilty to killing six of her newborn babies and storing their bodies in her garage is facing up to life in prison at a sentencing hearing set for Monday.

Megan Huntsman, 40, who has three surviving children, told police she was too addicted to methamphetamine to take care of more kids during the decade the babies were born. She pleaded guilty to six counts of murder in February and said in court documents that she wanted to take responsibility for the deaths.

Huntsman has said little during her court appearances in the year since her estranged husband found the tiny bodies in the garage of the home they once shared in the small city of Pleasant Grove. The grisly discovery sent shockwaves through the quiet, mostly Mormon community about 35 miles south of Salt Lake City.

She told police she gave birth to the babies over a 10-year period from 1996 to 2006 and strangled or suffocated each child immediately after birth. She wrapped their bodies in cloth, put them in plastic bags and packed them in boxes, then left them behind when she moved out of the house, authorities say. A seventh infant found in the garage was stillborn.

Husband Darren West was the father of all the babies and found the bodies in April 2014 following an eight-year federal prison stint on meth charges, authorities say.

They lived together during the period the babies were born, but police have said they aren’t investigating West in connection with the deaths. West, who also fathered Huntsman’s surviving three children, has not spoken publicly about the case.

Huntsman gave birth at home, but it is unclear how she concealed the pregnancies, births and deaths, police say.

The case has moved quickly, with plea talks starting months after Huntsman’s arrest and culminating with a deal in February that prosecutors say leaves fewer options for appeal than a trial would have, bringing final resolution to the case sooner.

She pleaded guilty to the full docket of charges against her. Prosecutors agreed to recommend sentencing that could reduce her minimum possible sentence to five years, but they say she will nevertheless likely spend the rest of her life in prison.

A parole board decides when prisoners are released in Utah, but prosecutor Jeff Buhman has said he will be shocked if she is ever let out.

 

OSHKOSH – An Oshkosh man was arrested in connection with a heroin overdose death.

Police say a 31-year-old Redgranite man died in February on W. 10th Ave. Autopsy results confirmed the cause of death as heroin toxicity.

The 33-year-old suspect was arrested in Larsen on Friday.

An AP survey of 26 marine scientists examines the health and state of the Gulf of Mexico’s ecosystem five years after the BP oil spill.

LITTLETON, Colo. (AP) — Classes are canceled at Columbine High School to mark the 16th anniversary of the shootings that killed twelve students and a teacher.

A moment of silence to honor those lost on April 20, 1999 will be held at 11:20 a.m. in the school’s library, which was rebuilt following the attack.

The tradition of canceling classes on the shooting’s anniversary started under the principal at the time, Frank DeAngelis. He retired last year and the school’s new leader, K.C. Somers, sent a letter to students earlier this month saying the tradition would continue for the foreseeable future.

 

NEW YORK (AP) — This is the last year that the original version of Kraft Mac & Cheese sold in the U.S. will contain artificial preservatives or synthetic colors.

In January, Kraft says its macaroni and cheese will be colored using paprika, annatto and turmeric.

There has been a huge shift away from processed foods in the U.S. and larger food producers are trying to follow their customers in that direction.

A Change.org petition that began in March 2013 asked Kraft to remove dyes from its macaroni and cheese. The petition garnered more than 365,000 signatures.

Already the company is selling a version in the U.S., called Kraft Mac & Cheese Boxed Shapes, which has no artificial flavors, preservatives or synthetic colors.

Kraft said that its other macaroni and cheese varieties sold in the U.S., such as Shapes Cups, Original Cups, Premium Flavors and Easy Mac will have no artificial flavors, preservatives or synthetic colors later next year.

The Canadian macaroni and cheese version, called Kraft Dinner Original, will also eliminate synthetic colors by 2016’s end.

The company said that it has worked for some time to make the changes to the product, but had to ensure that customers would not notice a change in taste.

“We weren’t ready to change the product until we were confident that Kraft Macaroni & Cheese tastes like Kraft Macaroni & Cheese,” the company said.

Kraft Foods Group Inc. is based in Northfield, Illinois.

MADISON (AP) – Sheriff’s deputies have arrested three more men in connection with a state drug informant’s death.

The Dane County Sheriff’s Department announced Monday that the men were taken into custody over the weekend on suspicion of aiding a felon and being a party to a crime of hiding a corpse.

Investigators believe the three men were present at the town of Burke auto repair garage where a Waunakee man and a Madison man stabbed 23-year-old Jacob Payne. They believe the men dumped Payne’s body in Lake Mendota.

A canoeist discovered the body on April 11. The Waunakee man was taken into custody the next day. The Madison man was arrested on April 14.

MADISON (AP) – The chairman of the state Assembly Education Committee wants state superintendent Tony Evers to tell all Wisconsin school districts that any student who wants to opt-out of taking the Badger Exam can do so.

State Rep. Jeremy Thiesfeldt, of Fond du Lac, sent Evers a letter Monday. He says there is confusion over the state law that governs when a student can opt out of the test which is currently being given in most public school districts.

The law says that the opt-out option must be granted to students who request it in grades 4, 8 and 9 through 11. The state Department of Public Instruction says because the law is silent on other grades being tested, it’s up to schools to decide whether to let students opt out.

MADISON (AP) – Another University of Wisconsin System school will offer employee buyouts to help cushion massive cuts looming in Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s budget.

UW-Stout officials announced their plan Monday. Employees must be at least 55 years old before July 1, joined the school no later than July 1, 2010, and be eligible to receive an annuity through the state retirement system. Takers would receive a one-time payment equal to half their salary. The school estimates about 272 employees are eligible.

Five other UW schools have announced similar buyout programs as they grapple with Walker’s plans to cut $300 million from the system.

The cuts aren’t a done deal, however. The Legislature’s finance committee is revising Walker’s budget ahead of full votes in the Senate and Assembly early this summer.

BOSTON (AP) — The guilt phase of Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s trial was considered a slam dunk for prosecutors, especially after his lawyers bluntly admitted during opening statements that he participated in the deadly 2013 attack.

But the outcome of the next phase of the trial is much more difficult to predict. The same jury must decide whether Tsarnaev, 21, should be put to death or spend the rest of his life in prison. The penalty phase begins Tuesday in U.S. District Court.

Debate over whether Tsarnaev should get the death penalty intensified recently after the parents of Martin Richard, an 8-year-old boy who was killed in the bombings, urged federal authorities to consider taking death off the table in exchange for Tsarnaev spending the rest of his life in prison and giving up his rights to appeal.

“We know that the government has its reasons for seeking the death penalty, but the continued pursuit of that punishment could bring years of appeals and prolong reliving the most painful day of our lives,” Bill and Denise Richard said in a statement to The Boston Globe last week.

A married couple who lost limbs in the attack also asked the U.S. Justice Department not to pursue the death penalty.

“If there is anyone who deserves the ultimate punishment, it is the defendant. However, we must overcome the impulse for vengeance,” Jessica Kensky and Patrick Downes said in a statement to the Globe Sunday.

Kensky and Downes were newlyweds when two bombs exploded near the marathon finish line on April 15, 2013, killing three people and injuring more than 260. They each lost their left leg. Kensky endured more than a dozen surgeries before having her severely damaged right leg amputated in January.

Others have said they favor the death penalty for Tsarnaev. Liz Norden, whose two adult sons each lost a leg in the bombings, said nothing short of execution is warranted.

“He destroyed so many families that day,” she said. “I want the ultimate justice.”

Legal experts differ on whether the pleas from victims will persuade the federal government to drop its bid for the death penalty.

“If the Justice Department seriously takes into consideration the feelings of the family members in this case, they have every justification to take death off the table,” said Robert Dunham, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center.

But New York Law School professor Robert Blecker said the Justice Department has to consider the larger question of denouncing terrorism.

“They’ll go forward with it. It will not change the decision. Denunciation is a legitimate purpose,” Blecker said.

Public opinion polls have shown that a majority of Boston-area residents oppose the death penalty for Tsarnaev.

Massachusetts abolished the state death penalty more than 30 years ago, but Tsarnaev is charged under the federal death penalty statute. The 12 jurors who will decide his fate all told a judge they would be willing to consider the death penalty if they believed the facts of the case and the law called for it. They also said they would consider life in prison.

During the penalty phase, the defense will continue to portray Tsarnaev’s brother, Tamerlan, 26, as a domineering follower of radical Islam who convinced his then 19-year-old brother that America had to be punished for its wars in Muslim countries. Tamerlan died four days after the bombings when he was shot during a firefight with police and run over by Dzhokhar during a getaway attempt.

Prosecutors are expected to emphasize the brutality of the bombings by calling more survivors to testify. During the first phase, several survivors testified about devastating injuries, including lost limbs.

Others described watching friends and loved ones die, including Martin Richard, the 8-year-old Boston boy; Lingzi Lu, a 23-year-old Boston University graduate student from China; and Krystle Campbell, a 29-year-old restaurant manager from Medford.

If even one juror votes against the death penalty, Tsarnaev will get a life sentence.