Lawyers representing Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, are seeking the abolition of the death penalty for their client. They contend that tsarnaev appeared before the court too soon after an attack in which 3 people were killed and more than 260 were injured.
Defenders of the death penalty to convicted terrorists argue that it was impossible to find a fair and impartial juror in Boston just 2 years after the attack. The lawyers demand that the two jurors who lied about what they knew about the attack, removed from the case.
From the explosion of a bomb planted by the Tsarnaev brothers April 15, 2013 near the finish line of the Boston marathon, killing:
- 8-year — old boy Martin Richard;
- Lingzi Lu (the Chinese exchange student, 23 years);
- Crystal Campbell (managing a restaurant for 29 years).
Police officer Sean Collier (age 27) was killed by the Tsarnaev brothers in the shootout.
Boston is in lockdown as manhunt continues for #BostonMarathon suspect. Photos of empty areas: http://t.co/KLgRiipUVm
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) April 19, 2013
Should we judge Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in Boston, if the city at that time still reeling from the effects of an attack of 2013? It is this question put on Thursday before the 1st district court of appeal of the United States in Boston.
Lawyers for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev are trying to overturn the death sentence of their client, claiming that he was subjected to «biased investigation»:
«This case is not to be regarded in Boston. Tsarnaev admitted committing the heinous crime, but, nevertheless, this process required strict compliance with the requirements of the Constitution and Federal law.»
During the trial in 2015, lawyers for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev did not dispute that their client participated in the attack. But they demanded another sentence replacing the death penalty with life imprisonment.
Protection portrays Tamerlan Tsarnaev organizer and mastermind of the attack. They insist that Tamerlan was radicalized, violent, and led the attack, while Dzhokhar was just following behind them.
Tamerlan tsarnaev — the elder brother of Dzhokhar, was killed in a shootout with police several days after the bombings.
The appeal also States that judge O’toole did not pay sufficient attention to the evidence that perhaps Tamerlan tsarnaev committed a triple murder in Massachusetts in 2011. The deaths of three people found dead in the apartment’s Waltham, Massachusetts, the tenth anniversary of September 11, 2001 remains unsolved. What is known is that Tamerlan was a close friend of one of the victims.
Help Us Find Him: Community members wanting 2 aid the search can call(800) CALL-FBI or EMAIL at [email protected]. pic.twitter.com/eTC1P958hs
— Boston Police Dept. (@bostonpolice) April 19, 2013
Tsarnaev’s lawyers also point to the two jurors who lied about his awareness of the attacks:
- In one case, a juror posted two dozen posts on Twitter after the explosions, including a retweet after the arrest of Tsarnaev, which read: «I Congratulate all law enforcement officers who worked so hard and went through hell to get this piece of garbage». According to the lawyers of Tsarnaev, a juror also published in social networks a post about how her family hid, along with thousands of other residents of Boston during the prosecution of terrorists by the police.
- Another juror posted to Facebook information about the process of jury selection. His friends called him «participate» in what is happening and to be part of the jury to ensure that tsarnaev will be convicted.
Lawyers for Tsarnaev have called these cases the reason for the disqualification of two jurors before trial, but prosecutors appealed the statement.
Judge George O’toole supported the protest and allowed the jury to continue hearing the case. During jury selection, O’toole acknowledged that the panel of 12 jurors and 6 alternates are familiar with the incident, but said that their work in the course of the trial will be only in the consideration of the evidence presented in court.
The court blamed Tsarnaev for the attack that occurred at the finish line of the Boston marathon on 15 April 2013, which killed 3 people and was fatally shot by a police officer who died 3 days later. Tsarnaev sentenced to death. This is the most high-profile Federal death sentence since, as Timothy McVeigh was convicted and executed for the bombing in Oklahoma city in 1995.
Protection Dzhokhar, Tsarnaev draws Parallels with the case of McVeigh, which was moved to Denver due to the fact that the Boston jury pool was biased to him. If the sentence and now will remain in force, lawyers have other options of recourse, including in the U.S. Supreme court. Tsarnaev is currently in prison super-maximum security ADX Florence, Colorado.
