BOSTON MARATHON BOMBING: Massachusetts vs. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev - Death sentence OVERTURNED!

BREAKING: Federal court OVERTURNS Boston Marathon bomber’s death sentence

On Friday, a federal appeals court in Massachusetts overturned the death sentence of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the man convicted of killing three people and injuring more than 260 others in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. In a 224-page opinion, the three-judge panel of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of...

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BREAKING: Federal court OVERTURNS Boston Marathon bomber’s death sentence

On Friday, a federal appeals court in Massachusetts overturned the death sentence of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the man convicted of killing three people and injuring more than 260 others in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.

In a 224-page opinion, the three-judge panel of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the lower court to hold a new trial specifically regarding what sentences Tsarnaev, 27, should receive for the capital offenses he was convicted of in 2015.

According to the Associated Press, Tsarnaev’s lawyers argued that extensive media coverage regarding the bombing made it impossible to have a fair trial in Boston. They also referenced two jurors’ social media posts which suggested they had strong opinions about the 2013 terror attack.

Tsarnaev’s lawyers said the jury’s foreperson sent a dozen tweets after the bombing — including one in which he called Tsarnaev a “piece of garbage” following his capture.


Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was convicted of all 30 counts against him, including murder, and was sentenced to death. He remains incarcerated at a super-maximum security prison in Colorado.

U.S. Circuit Judge O. Rogeriee Thompson wrote that the judge who presided over Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s 2015 trial “did not meet the standard” of fairness.

Thompson’s opinion reads, “Just to be crystal clear…Dzhokhar will remain confined to prison for the rest of his life, with the only question remaining being whether the government will end his life by executing him.”

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Appeals court vacates Boston Marathon bomber's death sentence, orders new penalty trial | CNN

A federal appeals court ruled on Friday to vacate the death sentence of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who along with his brother planted homemade bombs near the finish of the 2013 Boston Marathon, killing three spectators and injuring hundreds.

www.cnn.com

A federal appeals court ruled on Friday to vacate the death sentence of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who along with his brother planted homemade bombs near the finish of the 2013 Boston Marathon, killing three spectators and injuring hundreds.

The court also ruled to set aside three of his 30 convictions but said he will remain in federal prison for the rest of his life.

The court ruled Tsarnaev should be given a new penalty phase trial, where a new set of jurors can again decide if he should be sentenced to death. Tsarnaev, now 27, will remain incarcerated and is being held at the nation's most secure federal prison in Florence, Colorado.

Why was Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s death sentence overturned? - The Boston Globe

Jury selection in a high profile case, not the location of the trial, led to the stunning ruling Friday.

www.bostonglobe.com

Throughout the trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, lawyers for the Boston Marathon bomber stood firm behind their argument that he could never get a fair trial in the same city he was accused of terrorizing.

But the location of the trial in the federal courthouse in South Boston was not the problem, an appeals court ruled Friday; it was the failure of the trial judge to weed out potentially biased jurors in such a high-profile case.

“Despite a diligent effort, the judge here did not meet the standards set by [case law],” the three-member panel of the US Court of Appeals in Boston ruled Friday, in overturning the first death sentence handed out for terrorism by a jury in the United States in the post 9/11 world.

Because Tsarnaev faced federal capital charges, the same jury that convicted him for his role in the bombing was allowed to decide his fate, though in a separate trial with a new slate of witnesses. The appeals court decision upholds the conviction of Tsarnaev, who admitted to his crimes. But it means prosecutors will have to decide whether to seek his death at a new sentencing trial, with a new jury, or let Tsarnaev, now 27, serve the rest of his life in prison.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Prosecutors Get Another Month To Decide Whether To Appeal Tsarnaev's Death Sentence

The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals this week said prosecutors can have until Sept. 14 to file a petition asking the full court to rehear the case. The government's petition was initially due on Friday.

www.wbur.org

Prosecutors Get Another Month To Decide Whether To Appeal Tsarnaev's Death Sentence

A federal appeals court has agreed to give prosecutors another month to decide their next step after the court tossed Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's death sentence.

The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals this week said prosecutors can have until Sept. 14 to file a petition asking the full court to rehear the case. The government's petition was initially due on Friday.

Prosecutors asked for more time to decide whether to ask the court to reconsider the case, saying the process "in a case of this magnitude" requires input "from various components within the Department of Justice." Prosecutors could also appeal directly to the U.S. Supreme Court.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Boston Marathon bomber case: U.S. Justice Department asks Supreme Court to reinstate death penalty for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev

The feds are seeking to reinstate the death sentence against Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev after an appeals court recently tossed out the death penalty for the terrorist.

www.bostonherald.com

Legal team for Tsarnaev seeks delay in responding to prosecutors' High Court filing - The Boston Globe

Lawyers for Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who had his death sentence overturned in July by an appellate court, are seeking a delay in filing their written response to the Justice Department’s request to have the US Supreme Court review the matter, records show.

www.bostonglobe.com

 

[Summer_Breeze]

Federal appeals court hearing arguments in case of convicted Boston Marathon bomber

A federal appeals court is hearing another round of arguments Tuesday in Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's appeal of his death sentence in the 2013 attack.

www.wcvb.com

Updated: 9:21 AM EST Jan 10, 2023
WCVB

BOSTON —
A federal appeals court is hearing another round of arguments Tuesday in Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's appeal of his death sentence in the 2013 attack.

The Supreme Court of the United States voted in March 2022 to reinstate the death penalty for Tsarnaev for his role in the bombing that killed three people and wounded more than 260 others near the finish line of the marathon.

The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will consider arguments that were not previously ruled on when the U.S. Supreme Court last year overturned an earlier decision of the appeals court and reinstated his death sentence.

Tsarnaev’s guilt in the deaths of the bombing victims was not at issue, only whether he should be sentenced to life in prison or to death.

Martin Richard, 8; Krystle Campbell, 29; and Lu Lingzi, 23, were killed in the bombings at the finish line.

 

[Summer_Breeze]

Appeals court orders judge to probe claims of juror bias in Boston Marathon bomber's case

A federal appeals court ordered Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s case to be returned to a lower court to probe claims of juror bias.

apnews.com

BY ALANNA DURKIN RICHER
Updated 8:19 PM EDT, March 21, 2024

BOSTON (AP) — A federal appeals court on Thursday ordered the judge who oversaw Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s trial to investigate the defense’s claims of juror bias and determine whether his death sentence should stand.

A three-judge panel of the Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals did not throw out Tsarnaev’s death sentence. Defense lawyers had pushed for that while claiming bias by two people who sat on the jury that convicted him for his role in the bombing that killed three people and injured hundreds near the marathon’s finish line in 2013.

But the appeals court found that the trial judge did not adequately probe Tsarnaev’s allegations, and sent the case back to the judge for a new investigation. If the judge finds that either juror should have been disqualified, he should vacate Tsarnaev’s sentence and hold a new penalty-phase trial to determine whether Tsarnaev should be sentenced to death, the appeals court said.

“And even then, we once again emphasize that the only question in any such proceeding will be whether Tsarnaev will face execution; regardless of the outcome, he will spend the rest of his life in prison,” it said.

The U.S. attorney’s office in Massachusetts declined to comment Thursday. The Justice Department can either ask the full 1st Circuit to hear the matter or go to the U.S. Supreme Court. Lawyers for Tsarnaev didn’t immediately respond to emails seeking comment on the decision.

It’s the latest twist in the long-running case, which has already been argued in front of the U.S. Supreme Court once. The high court in 2022 reinstated the death sentence imposed on 30-year-old Tsarnaev after the 1st Circuit threw out the sentence in 2020. The circuit court found then that the trial judge did not sufficiently question jurors about their exposure to extensive news coverage of the bombing. The Supreme Court justices voted 6-3 in 2022 when they ruled that the 1st Circuit’s decision was wrong.

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More at link. ~Summer

 

[Summer_Breeze]

Prosecutors won’t challenge Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s appeal case

Prosecutors have announced that they won't challenge a federal appeals court ruling regarding possible juror bias in the death penalty case of Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

www.boston25news.com

By Frank O'Laughlin, Boston 25 News Staff
May 03, 2024 at 8:32 am EDT

Prosecutors have announced that they won’t challenge a federal appeals court ruling regarding possible juror bias in the death penalty case of Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

Defense lawyers for Tsarnaev are fighting to get his death penalty sentence overturned, arguing bias over questionable social media posts made by two people who sat on the jury that convicted him for his role in the bombing that killed three people and injured hundreds near the marathon’s finish line in 2013.

The appeals court recently ordered the judge who oversaw Tsarnaev’s trial to investigate the defense’s claims of juror bias and determine whether his death sentence should stand. Prosecutors are now agreeing to take a second look.

There is no chance Tsarnaev will be freed from prison, but his sentence can end up changing to life without parole instead of death.

Defense lawyers have also argued that Tsarnaev had fallen under the influence of his older brother, Tamerlan, who died in a gun battle with police after the bombing.

Tsarnaev was convicted of all 30 charges against him, including conspiracy and use of a weapon of mass destruction and the killing of Massachusetts Institute of Technology Police Officer Sean Collier.

Lingzi Lu, a 23-year-old Boston University graduate student from China, Krystle Campbell, a 29-year-old restaurant manager from Medford, and 8-year-old Martin Richard, of Boston, all died in the bombing.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Tsarnaev lawyers push for new judge in juror bias investigation

Lawyers for Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev want a new judge to oversee the investigation into juror bias. They say the judge that oversaw Tsarnaev’s 2015 death penalty trial should excuse himself after making public comments about the case. According to The Boston Globe, Tsarnaev’s...

www.nbcboston.com

Tsarnaev lawyers push for new judge in juror bias investigation​

Lawyers for Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev want a new judge to oversee the investigation into juror bias.

They say the judge that oversaw Tsarnaev's 2015 death penalty trial should excuse himself after making public comments about the case.

According to The Boston Globe, Tsarnaev's legal team says that U.S. District Judge George A. O'Toole Jr. "invited trouble" by commenting on the case on a podcast and during panel discussions, and those comments violate the judicial code of conduct.

The U.S. Attorney's Office says the defense's request should be denied because the judge did not discuss the merits of the case.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Boston judge cracks back at Tsarnaev’s death-sentence appeal: Delay ‘mind-boggling’ says mom

A federal judge in Boston is vigorously denying the marathon bomber’s last-ditch accusation that another magistrate must reexamine the killer’s death penalty sentencing.

www.bostonherald.com

Boston judge cracks back at Tsarnaev’s death-sentence appeal: Delay ‘mind-boggling’ says mom​

A federal judge in Boston is vigorously denying the marathon bomber’s last-ditch accusation that another magistrate must reexamine the killer’s death penalty sentencing.

In a stinging rebuke, Judge George A. O’Toole Jr. said he won’t step aside as Dzhokhar Tsarnaev fights to dodge a death sentence.

Tsarnaev’s lawyers allege two jurors were biased when they agreed to sentence the bomber to death in June of 2015 for “using weapons of mass destruction” at the marathon finish line. The First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston has instructed O’Toole to take another look at the alleged bias of those jurors.

This case drags on because the appeals court stated, “the district court’s investigation fell short of what was constitutionally required” over this one issue. If bias is shown, the court adds, Tsarnaev will be “entitled to a new penalty-phase proceeding.”