Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's death sentence overturned by appeals court

[rooster59]

Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's death sentence overturned by appeals court

By Nate Raymond

 

FILE PHOTO: Boston Marathon bombing witness Carlos Arredondo carries a "Boston Strong" banner after blessing the runners during services at Old South Church on the 5th anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., April 15, 2018. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

 

BOSTON (Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Friday overturned Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's death sentence for helping carry out the 2013 attack, which killed three people and wounded more than 260 others.

 

Tsarnaev and his older brother set off a pair of homemade pressure-cooker bombs near the finish line of the world-renowned race, tearing through the packed crowd and causing many people to lose legs.

 

A three-judge panel of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld much of Tsarnaev's conviction but ordered a new trial over what sentence Tsarnaev should receive for the death penalty-eligible crimes he was convicted of.

 

U.S. Circuit Judge O. Rogeriee Thompson, writing for the court, said the trial judge "fell short" in conducting the jury selection process and screening jurors for potential bias following pretrial publicity surrounding the high-profile case.

 

Thompson said the pervasive news coverage of the bombings and their aftermath featured "bone-chilling" photos and videos of Tsarnaev, now 27, and his brother carrying backpacks at the marathon and of those injured and killed near its finish line.

 

Thompson said the judge deemed jurors eligible who had "already formed an opinion that Dzhokhar was guilty - and he did so in large part because they answered 'yes' to the question whether they could decide this high-profile case based on the evidence."

 

Thompson stressed the ruling's limits. "Make no mistake: Dzhokhar will spend his remaining days locked up in prison, with the only matter remaining being whether he will die by execution," she said.

 

While all three judges agreed the death sentence should be overturned, U.S. Circuit Judge Juan Torruella said he believed Tsarnaev was also denied the right to a fair trial when the judge declined to let the case be tried outside of Boston.

 

David Patton, Tsarnaev's lawyer, said prosecutors must now decide "whether to put the victims and Boston through a second trial, or to allow closure to this terrible tragedy by permitting a sentence of life without the possibility of release."

 

U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling's spokeswoman said his office is reviewing the decision. Prosecutors could ask the full appeals court to reconsider the ruling or appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

 

Speaking at an event with law enforcement in Tampa, Florida, President Donald Trump referred to Tsarnaev as an "animal."

 

"They just sent this conviction for the death penalty back to the lower courts so they’ll argue about that for a long time," Trump said. "It's ridiculous."

 

HOUSE-TO-HOUSE MANHUNT

 

Tsarnaev is being held at the United States' "Supermax" prison in Florence, Colorado, a site so remote and well secured that it is nicknamed the "Alcatraz of the Rockies."

 

Tsarnaev and his older brother Tamerlan sparked five days of panic in Boston on April 15, 2013, when they detonated two homemade pressure cooker bombs at the marathon's finish line and then went into hiding.

 

Three nights later, as they attempted to flee the city, they sparked a new round of terror in Boston when they hijacked a car and shot dead Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer Sean Collier. Tsarnaev's brother died later that night after a gunfight with police, which ended when Dzhokhar ran him over with a stolen car.

 

Police then locked down Boston and most surrounding communities for almost 24 hours, with heavily armed officers conducting house-to-house searches through the suburb of Watertown, where the surviving brother was found hiding in a dry-docked boat in a backyard.

 

A jury in 2015 found Tsarnaev guilty of all 30 counts he faced and later determined he deserved execution for a bomb he planted that killed 8-year-old Martin Richard and 23-year-old Chinese exchange student Lingzi Lu. Restaurant manager Krystle Campbell, 29, was also killed.

 

Bill and Denise Richard, whose son Martin was the youngest fatality in the attack, in a statement printed on the front page of the Boston Globe in 2015 had asked the U.S. Department of Justice to drop its pursuit of the death penalty, saying it would only prolong their pain.

 

On the day of his sentencing, Tsarnaev admitted his crimes.

 

"I am sorry for the lives I have taken, for the suffering that I have caused you, for the damage I have done, irreparable damage," said Tsarnaev. "In case there is any doubt, I am guilty of this attack, along with my brother."

 

(Reporting by Nate Raymond; Editing by Scott Malone, Leslie Adler, Jonathan Oatis and Daniel Wallis)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-08-01

 

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[stevenl]

Seems right, some of the jurors were out on social media before the trial condemning him.

 

I would say just lock him away for life with no possibility of parole to put an end to this, works out cheaper than the death penalty as well.

[PJPom]

I cannot follow the reasoning of this decision, the man admitted guilt, the penalty was death according to law, and now they will continue the Lawyers feast. I often use the comment T I T to describe happenings in Thailand but the U S A often presents many instances defying logic...

[Tug]

This sucks just put him in general population it will be taken care of 

[JusticeGB]

Stupid Liberal Judges he deserves a death sentence he killed people. He didn't even hand out brown envelopes.  Sorry wrong country this is not Thailand it's the weepy left country of the USA. 

[Scott]

Troll post and reply removed.  

 

[riclag]

5 hours ago, rooster59 said:

 

Three nights later, as they attempted to flee the city, they sparked a new round of terror in Boston when they hijacked a car and shot dead Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer Sean Collier. Tsarnaev's brother died later that night after a gunfight with police, which ended when Dzhokhar ran him over with a stolen car.

"A new round of terror"

For the millions who witness this,  I'm sure many will always feel a sense of fear when they witness  events  with large gatherings !

For the two hundred and sixty people who live with injuries caused by him and his brother , I'm sure they have a special place in their hearts, for these terrorists ! 

 

"The Boston Marathon Bombing was a terrorist attack that occurred on April 15, 2013, when two bombs went off near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing three spectators and wounding more than 260 other people".

 

https://www.history.com/topics/21st-century/boston-marathon-bombings

 

 

 

[Deli]

Why wasting more tax payers' money on such a piece of sh** ?

Get him off the planet for good now.

[jesimps]

1 hour ago, Deli said:

Why wasting more tax payers' money on such a piece of sh** ?

Get him off the planet for good now.

How anyone can react "sad" to that I've no idea. This is another typically incredible decision by judges in the US and across the pond in recent months. It makes me despair.

[Roadman]

16 minutes ago, jesimps said:

How anyone can react "sad" to that I've no idea. This is another typically incredible decision by judges in the US and across the pond in recent months. It makes me despair.

Despair? He deserves to die. But in a civilized world do we as humans have the right to sentence other humans to death. The despair should be that the USA is that uncivilized it thinks nothing of killing other humans. The rest of the western world have moved on as civilized nations. 
Lock him away for life. And life means life.  

[from the home of CC]

9 hours ago, stevenl said:

Seems right, some of the jurors were out on social media before the trial condemning him.

 

I would say just lock him away for life with no possibility of parole to put an end to this, works out cheaper than the death penalty as well.

not in the eyes of some of the victims, do they get a say?

[stevenl]

19 minutes ago, from the home of CC said:

not in the eyes of some of the victims, do they get a say?

No. Victims make bad judges. Plus, as I said, trial and sentencing should be fair and unbiased. If, as in this case, jurors are biased this should be corrected.

Edited August 1, 2020 by stevenl

[pineapple01]

Great News, now he will find out what pain realy is.

[from the home of CC]

10 minutes ago, stevenl said:

No. Victims make bad judges. Plus, as I said, trial and sentencing should be fair and unbiased. If, as in this case, jurors are biased this should be corrected.

victims are not judges but they are allowed to make victim statements in the court which can influence sentencing. In this case the judge made a legal error but that will not erase the statements made from victims. Many of the victims want the death penalty and imo  the death penalty will stand after retrial for I don't believe they'll find folks anywhere in the US that would give this murderous clown anything but..

[stevenl]

5 minutes ago, from the home of CC said:

victims are not judges but they are allowed to make victim statements in the court which can influence sentencing. In this case the judge made a legal error but that will not erase the statements made from victims. Many of the victims want the death penalty and imo  the death penalty will stand after retrial for I don't believe they'll find folks anywhere in the US that would give this murderous clown anything but..

Maybe it will stand. But it will mean 20 years or so of lawsuits, costing money like crazy, and keeping this in the victims' eyes for those 20 years 

 

Just lock him up for life and be done with it 

[pacovl46]

10 hours ago, stevenl said:

Seems right, some of the jurors were out on social media before the trial condemning him.

 

I would say just lock him away for life with no possibility of parole to put an end to this, works out cheaper than the death penalty as well.

How does housing and feeding him for possibly another 60 years work out cheaper than exhausting all his appeals over maybe 15 years and then putting him down? 

[IAMHERE]

If he doesn't get death then nobody should get that penalty. 

[bodga]

Did  they ask the 265  injured  also?

Edited August 1, 2020 by Scott

[Bluespunk]

13 minutes ago, bodga said:

Did  they ask the 265  injured  also?

No idea, do your research and find out. 

[Cryingdick]

8 hours ago, pacovl46 said:

How does housing and feeding him for possibly another 60 years work out cheaper than exhausting all his appeals over maybe 15 years and then putting him down? 

It's been studied before and the courts and appeals actually cost more than life in prison. 

[torturedsole]

I don't know what's worse, death penalty or whole life sentence in a supermax.  

[from the home of CC]

12 hours ago, stevenl said:

Maybe it will stand. But it will mean 20 years or so of lawsuits, costing money like crazy, and keeping this in the victims' eyes for those 20 years 

 

Just lock him up for life and be done with it 

to me personally, to be isolated in the supermax, I'd rather be dead. Retribution is a real aspect to US justice, I wish our Canadian law had a little more of it, especially in a case as heinous as this..

[stevenl]

11 hours ago, pacovl46 said:

How does housing and feeding him for possibly another 60 years work out cheaper than exhausting all his appeals over maybe 15 years and then putting him down? 

Really easy to find, e.g. https://www.thebalance.com/comparing-the-costs-of-death-penalty-vs-life-in-prison-4689874

[simple1]

3 hours ago, torturedsole said:

I don't know what's worse, death penalty or whole life sentence in a supermax.  

Depends on the individual, but one would think death penalty preferable, though some clearly wish to live.

[Thomas J]

There really is No Death Penalty in the USA.  Most who have been on death row die of natural causes before all of their appeals are heard.  They say it is not a deterrent.  How do you know.  Something that will not occur for decades if ever is hardly the deterrent of something you know will happen quickly.  One way or another, put him in the general population and the inmates will take care of what the government refuses to do. 

[Rimmer]

Baiting post leading to bickering removed

[pacovl46]

14 hours ago, Cryingdick said:

It's been studied before and the courts and appeals actually cost more than life in prison. 

Ok,  but you have the right to appeal any sentence, if he doesn’t get the death penalty and appeals his prison sentence won’t the cost be the same? 

[stevenl]

3 minutes ago, pacovl46 said:

Ok,  but you have the right to appeal any sentence, if he doesn’t get the death penalty and appeals his prison sentence won’t the cost be the same? 

Read the link provided, or search Google. Many links on this.

[transam]

14 hours ago, Cryingdick said:

It's been studied before and the courts and appeals actually cost more than life in prison. 

So what, the west is spending zillions to take out Muslim terrorist where ever they show up around the world. A court case over a caught mass murderer is peanuts... 

[thaibeachlovers]

On 8/1/2020 at 9:41 PM, Roadman said:

Despair? He deserves to die. But in a civilized world do we as humans have the right to sentence other humans to death. The despair should be that the USA is that uncivilized it thinks nothing of killing other humans. The rest of the western world have moved on as civilized nations. 
Lock him away for life. And life means life.  

LOL. We have no problem sending young men to kill and be killed in war, we have no problem allowing abortion, etc

I don't support the death penalty as too many innocents died due to wrong convictions, but I'd put them in solitary till they died in prison. Punishes the guilty and allows the innocent to be released if the system works.