Boston Marathon Bomber’s Execution Sentence Reversed – For Now

Boston Marathon bomber, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, has been spared the death penalty – for now.

The First Circuit Court of Appeals threw out the lower court decision that the 27-yr-old Tsarnaev can be executed for his terrorist act that killed three people and wounded over 260 others in 2013.

The First Circuit Court of Appeals reviewed the entirety of court proceedings leading up to Tsarnaev’s sentencing and ruled that not enough scrutiny was done to ensure an unbiased jury.

The Court was clear that this decision was not based on the merits of whether Tsarnaev was guilty or whether he deserved the death penalty, but rather that the proceedings needed to be re-evaluated:

“But 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.”

“Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s convictions on Counts 13, 15, and 18 are reversed, and the district court is directed to enter a judgment of acquittal on those count.”

“Dzhohkar Tsarnaev’s death sentences on Counts 4, 5, 9, 10, and 14 are vacated, and the matter is remanded to the district court with directions to hold a new penalty-phase trial.”

This means that Tsarnaev will be re-tried at the lower court, and the chances of him getting the death penalty again are not, according to anything the First Circuit Court of Appeals said, compromised.

Tsarnaev’s lawyers don’t deny his participation in the terrorist act, but rather claim that his brother was the mastermind behind it, thus Tsarnaev didn’t deserve the same punishment.