In the ongoing legal proceedings surrounding Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the convicted bomber of the 2013 Boston Marathon, significant developments have emerged as his defense seeks to overturn his death sentence.
Last year, the judge presiding over the case ordered that all filings be submitted under seal, emphasizing the need to safeguard juror privacy and maintain the integrity of the high-stakes trial. However, some documents have since been released.
Recently, Judge O’Toole denied a request from Tsarnaev’s legal team to disqualify himself from the case, arguing that his comments on a podcast and at public events do not compromise his neutrality. The defense has escalated the matter, appealing to the US First Circuit Court to overturn the judge’s refusal to recuse himself.
Among those closely following the case is Marc Fucarile, a survivor of the Marathon bombing who lost his leg in the attack. In a recent interview, he expressed his frustration with the ongoing legal battle, labeling it a “disgrace for us victims.”
Fucarile stated, “The video evidence shows what he did — so why are we even talking about it 12 years later? I think he needs to be put down to show that it’s not okay to kill innocent people. There has to be consequences.”
Fucarile, who has established a non-profit to support the mobility impaired and plans to cheer on runners at the 2025 Boston Marathon, criticized the use of taxpayer dollars to defend Tsarnaev while he fundraises for his foundation.
His frustration is palpable as he remarked, “I want him dead because the quicker he’s dead the less money we have to continuously spend on him.”
Conversely, some bombing victims have cited the prolonged nature of the legal process as a reason to favor a life sentence for Tsarnaev, should he choose to waive his appeals.
Bill and Denise Richard, who lost their eight-year-old son Martin in the attack, conveyed their viewpoint in a 2015 open letter to the Globe. They warned that pursuing the death penalty could lead to years of appeals, forcing them to relive the most painful day of their lives.
William Fick, Tsarnaev’s attorney, chose not to provide comments on the ongoing situation, while a spokesperson for the US Attorney’s office, opposing Tsarnaev’s attempts to overturn his sentence, also refrained from commenting.
Legal expert George Kendall, who has managed numerous death penalty cases and observed Tsarnaev’s trial closely, noted that it’s common for complex capital cases to take years, if not decades, to resolve.
Kendall stated, “I think most people understand that, because of the stakes involved, these cases have to be reviewed carefully. Most people would agree that if there are indications that two jurors were not candid during jury selection when their answers were given under oath, that’s a serious issue and that needs to be further explored.”
Tsarnaev, 31, was raised in Cambridge and is currently detained at a federal supermax prison in Colorado. He openly admitted during his trial that he planted a bomb in front of the Forum restaurant on Boylston Street on April 15, 2013, resulting in the deaths of Richard and Lingzi Lu, a Boston University graduate student.
He was also found culpable for the death of MIT police Officer Sean Collier in the days following the attack, when he and his brother attempted to evade capture.
Evidence presented during the trial indicted his older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, as responsible for another bomb that killed Krystle Campbell, 29. Tamerlan ultimately died in a confrontation with police following the bombings, while Boston Police Officer Dennis Simmonds succumbed to injuries sustained during the confrontation a year later.
During Tsarnaev’s original trial, the jury recommended the death penalty, dismissing claims made by the defense that the then-19-year-old was unduly influenced by his older brother.
In 2020, the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit overturned Tsarnaev’s death sentence, citing that the trial judge had not adequately questioned jurors concerning their exposure to media coverage of the bombings and had mistakenly excluded evidence that supported defense claims regarding Tsarnaev’s alleged control by his brother.
However, in 2022, the US Supreme Court reinstated Tsarnaev’s death sentence, asserting that he had received a fair trial.
Then, in March 2024, a panel of the First Circuit ruled 2-1 that O’Toole had erred by denying the defense’s request to dismiss two jurors during jury selection without thoroughly investigating accusations that they had not been truthful about their social media activity.
Consequently, O’Toole was mandated to examine potential juror bias and conduct a new sentencing trial for Tsarnaev if he determined that either of the jurors should have been removed from the panel.
During jury selection, one juror claimed she had not commented about the case; however, the defense found she had tweeted or retweeted 22 times about the bombings, including a post calling Tsarnaev a “piece of garbage”. Meanwhile, another juror had reportedly misrepresented the social media activity of a Facebook friend who encouraged him to “play the part” to join the jury and send Tsarnaev to jail.
The defense’s request to interrogate these jurors about their online remarks during the jury selection process was denied by the judge.
The First Circuit is currently deliberating on the defense’s appeal to mandate O’Toole to recuse himself, which would imply assigning the case to a different judge.
Furthermore, the future of Tsarnaev’s death sentence may also hinge on the political landscape regarding the death penalty during the Trump administration, which has expressed a renewed commitment to capital punishment. The Biden administration had previously enacted a moratorium on federal executions but continued to support the pursuit of the death sentence for Tsarnaev.
After his re-election, Trump issued an executive order aimed at “restoring” the federal death penalty, which could impact the handling of Tsarnaev’s case moving forward.
The Death Penalty Information Center highlights that federal executions have historically been uncommon, with only 16 taking place since the reinstitution of the federal death penalty in 1988; 13 of these executions occurred during the last six months of Trump’s first term.
Robin M. Maher, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, remarked, “We have a lot of enthusiasm being expressed by President Trump for the increased use of the death penalty,” while also suggesting, “it’s a little too soon” to predict how his administration will proceed.
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