Boston city officials outlined public safety plans for Marathon Monday at a press conference Friday, where there were also questions about the fate of convicted Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
Officials reiterated many of the same security rules announced earlier this week: There will be heightened security in some areas, officers may ask to check bags, and police may turn people away from the Bolyston area if it gets too full. Boston police commissioner Bill Evans says officers will be on hand to direct foot traffic as the Red Sox game ends and people stream out of Fenway Park. There'll also be air quality checks along the route and antidrone devices on some roofs.
"It's just another piece of technology that's going to aid us that day," Evans said of the antidrone technology. "But as of now, there's no intelligence to say that there's any threat to this marathon."
Overall, marathon security is going to be low-key and people shouldn't be intimidated, he said.
Mayor Marty Walsh was also asked about a letter published in the Boston Globe by Bill and Denise Richards, the parents of a 8-year-old boy killed in the bombing. In the letter, the Richards say they don't support the death penalty for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Walsh says he supports the family.
"I think they just want to see this trial behind them," he said. "I thank them for their courage for putting that in writing."
But when asked specifically if he supports the death penalty, Walsh said he'd wouldn't answer until after the jury decides Tsarnaev's fate.
