Rolling Stone cover draws boycotts, condemnation for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev image

The August issue of Rolling Stone is drawing boycotts from stores and outrage from Boston officials as it depicts on its cover alleged Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, which Boston Mayor Thomas Menino called "a disgrace."

CVS, Walgreens and a few other chain stores in Massachusetts have all said they won't carry the issue out of respect for the victims of the bombing, and Menino Wednesday condemned the magazine for "glorifying" Tsarnaev.

"It's a total disgrace, that cover of Rolling Stone," Menino said. "It should have been about survivors or first responders. Why are we glorifying a guy who created mayhem in the city of Boston?"

Rolling Stone editors defended the decision to feature Tsarnaev on the cover, saying it "falls within the traditions of journalism."

"The fact that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is young, and in the same age group as many of our readers, makes it all the more important for us toexamine the complexities of this issue," the editors wrote in a note above the full story, which was posted online Wednesday.

(with Reuters)