Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.Photo: FBI
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, one of two brothers responsible for the deadly 2013 bombings at the Boston Marathon, has once again been sentenced to death.
Tsarnaev was just 19 at the time that he carried out the domestic attack, during which three people were killed and an estimated 260 more were injured, many losing entire limbs. He and his older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev — who died in a shootout following the incident — planted pressure cooker bombs near the marathon finish line that were remotely detonated.
PEOPLE previously reported that prior to Tsarnaev’s trial, at least two jurors selected had posted on social media about the attack, but were not asked follow-up questions or dismissed, despite a Boston court rule requiring further questioning in those circumstances.
One of those jurors, who called Tsarnaev a “piece of garbage” on social media before the trial, went on to become the jury’s foreperson,according to the AP.
At the time that his death sentence was vacated, appeals court Judge O. Rogeriee Thompson wrote that his guilt was not in question, but rather whether he was fairly tried and lawfully punished.
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But on Friday, the Supreme Courtruled 6-3that Tsarnaev’s death sentence be reinstated, overruling the appeals court’s earlier decision.
“Dzhokhar Tsarnaev committed heinous crimes,” wrote Justice Clarence Thomas on behalf of the majority, which was comprised of the court’s conservative-leaning justices. “The Sixth Amendment nonetheless guaranteed him a fair trial before an impartial jury. He received one.”
Though President Joe Biden’s administration hasimposed a moratorium on federal executionsand the president has said he opposes the death penalty, his administration inherited President Donald Trump’s position to defend the sentence,AP reports.
source: people.com
