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Keller @ Large: Boston Marathon Bomber's Appeal Is Absurd

BOSTON (CBS) - Would you believe one of these little commentaries we share every morning has been cited in a legal appeal for a vicious mass murderer?

The lawyers for the man whom they acknowledge slaughtered innocent men, women and children during his vile rampage on and after Boston Marathon day in 2013 have included one of them in a long list of examples of what they claim is a web of local publicity and social media that denied their client a fair trial.

More on that in a moment.

But first, let's consider the complete absurdity of the argument they're making – on our dime, of course.

They claim that saturation coverage of the bombings and their aftermath "precluded impartial adjudication" of the case, and "intense and widely-diffused public feeling" about it amounted to a "constitutionally-intolerable level of risk to the fairness of the trial."

Does any sane person think that a jury in Alaska with little knowledge of the case wouldn't have heard the outright confession of the defendant and his lawyers, reviewed the overwhelming video and eyewitness evidence of his guilt, and reached the same verdict the Boston jury did?

And that commentary of ours that so upsets the defense?

It was about how our community cohesion extends far beyond the aftermath of the terror attacks, to the acts of kindness people around here do for each other every day. About how Marathon Day now stands each year as a reminder of how we can and do stick together, and draw strength from each other.

That's not prejudicial.

It's a fact.

And I'm sure the appeals court will see it the same way.

Listen to Jon's commentary:

You can listen to Keller At Large on WBZ News Radio every weekday at 7:55 a.m. You can also watch Jon on WBZ-TV News weeknights at 11 p.m.

Email Jon at keller@wbztv.com or reach him on Twitter @kelleratlarge.

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