Rolling Stone Editors Defend Their Cover of Boston Bomber

The editors of the Rolling Stone cover story on Dzhokhar Tsarnaev have defended the cover in a note on the full article, saying that it fell within the magazine's traditions of journalism. The cover caused  a lot of outrage after the magazine hit stores with critics saying the portrait of Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev resembles that of a rock star or teen idol. However, the editors stood by the cover saying;

Our hearts go out to the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing, and our thoughts are always with them and their families. The cover story we are publishing this week falls within the traditions of journalism and Rolling Stone’s long-standing commitment to serious and thoughtful coverage of the most important political and cultural issues of our day. 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 to examine the complexities of this issue and gain a more complete understanding of how a tragedy like this happens. –THE EDITORS

This is coming after several American national retail store chains including 7/11 and CVS announced they will not carry the issue. Also, Boston's mayor also sent a letter to Rolling Stone's publisher condemning the decision. A resident of Boston, George Aaron Cuddy, even went as far as opening a FB page calling for the magazine to be burned in public.

What do you think, is this level of outrage justified? Is it unfair to put a good face on a suspected killer and are the editors showing some unnecessary sympathy to the suspected killer, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev?