DOJ Asks Supreme Court To Reinstate Death Penalty For Dzhokhar Tsarnaev
BOSTON (CBS) – The Justice Department is urging the Supreme Court to reinstate the death penalty for Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. President Joe Biden has called for an end to capital punishment, but in this case, his administration is arguing for it.
A federal appeals court threw out Tsarnaev's death sentence last year, citing potential jury bias. The Trump administration challenged that and the Supreme Court agreed to take up the case. Justices are expected to hear arguments in their next term in October.
"There are so many factors here what we call aggravating circumstances that make this crime particularly heinous. So I think if an administration is going to get behind the death penalty, this would be the kind of case to do it in," said WBZ-TV legal analyst Jennifer Roman.
Roman said there likely won't be a decision from the Supreme Court until sometime in 2022.
Marc Fucarile, who lost a leg in the bombing, says while he supports the death penalty, not all survivors and families feel the same way.
"I believe that him sitting and rotting in jail, if I believed in my heart that he would stay there forever and not have a chance to be traded for a prisoner or something else, or COVID strikes and we got to let him out, you know, I'd rather see him tortured sitting in there," Fucarile said.
"Playing God I don't agree with either about taking a life, but in this situation I think we need to send a message and make it clear."
If the death penalty is not reinstated, Tsarnaev will have to serve out multiple life sentences.
Earlier this year, Tsarnaev filed a lawsuit over his treatment at the supermax prison in Colorado where he has been held since 2015.
Tsarnaev was convicted on 30 charges, including conspiracy and use of a weapon of mass destruction.
Killed in the 2013 bombings were Lingzi Lu, a 23-year-old Boston University graduate student from China; Krystle Campbell, a 29-year-old restaurant manager from Medford; and 8-year-old Martin Richard, who had gone to watch the marathon with his family. Massachusetts Institute of Technology police Officer Sean Collier was shot to death in his cruiser days later. More than 200 others were injured.
