Justices seem set to revive marathon bomber's death sentence

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court sounded acceptable Wednesday to reinstate the decease punishment for convicted Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

In much than 90 minutes of arguments, the court's six blimpish justices seemed apt to clasp the Biden administration's argument that a national appeals tribunal mistakenly threw retired Tsarnaev's decease sentence for his relation successful the bombing that killed 3 radical adjacent the decorativeness enactment of the marathon successful 2013.

The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals successful Boston ruled past twelvemonth that the proceedings justice improperly excluded grounds that could person shown Tsarnaev was profoundly influenced by his older brother, Tamerlan, and was someway little liable for the carnage. The appeals tribunal besides faulted the justice for not sufficiently questioning jurors astir their vulnerability to extended quality sum of the bombing.

Ad

The court's 3 wide justices appeared much favorable to Tsarnaev. If the appellate ruling were affirmed, Tsarnaev would person to look a caller sentencing proceedings if the medication decided to proceed pressing for a decease sentence.

Tsarnaev’s guilt successful the deaths of Lingzi Lu, a 23-year-old Boston University postgraduate pupil from China; Krystle Campbell, a 29-year-old edifice manager from Medford, Massachusetts; and 8-year-old Martin Richard, of Boston, is not astatine issue, lone whether helium should beryllium sentenced to beingness successful situation oregon to death.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett was the lone subordinate of the tribunal to rise the administration’s pursuit of a superior condemnation for Tsarnaev adjacent arsenic it has halted national executions. President Joe Biden besides has called for an extremity to the national decease penalty.

Ad

Barrett wondered astir the “government's extremity game,” noting that if the medication wins the case, Tsarnaev would beryllium “living nether a decease condemnation the authorities doesn't mean to transportation out.”

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.