SCOTUS Reimposes Death Sentence for Boston Marathon Bomber

The Supreme Court has just reinstated the death sentence for terrorist Boston marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev:

The Supreme Court REINSTATES the death penalty for Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. In a 6-3 decision, SCOTUS holds that a federal appeals court was wrong when it vacated his death sentence based on a jury-selection issue and an evidentiary issue.

— SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) March 4, 2022

Here’s more from the AP:

The Supreme Court has reinstated the death sentence for convicted Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

The justices, by a 6-3 vote Friday, agreed with the Biden administration’s arguments that a federal appeals court was wrong to throw out the sentence of death a jury imposed on Tsarnaev for his role in the bombing that killed three people near the finish line of the marathon in 2013.

The First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston ruled in 2020 that the trial judge improperly excluded evidence that could have shown Tsarnaev was deeply influenced by his older brother, Tamerlan, and was somehow less responsible for the carnage. The appeals court also faulted the judge for not sufficiently questioning jurors about their exposure to extensive news coverage of the bombing.

As you can imagine, it was the three liberal activist judges who dissented.

Clarence Thomas wrote the majority opinion which you can read at the link below:

Here’s the opinion from Clarence Thomas in United States v. Tsarnaev: https://t.co/zeCKqPOiCa.

The court divided along ideological lines, with Breyer (joined by Kagan and in part by Sotomayor) dissenting.

— SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) March 4, 2022

In short, Thomas said this:

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev committed heinous crimes. The Sixth Amendment nonetheless guaranteed him a fair trial before an impartial jury. He received one. The judgment of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit is reversed.

What a great day for justice.

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