DOJ Urges Supreme Court To Reinstate Death Sentence for Boston Bomber

The Department of Justice has asked the Supreme Court to reexamine the case of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in an effort to reinstate the death sentence for him.

On April 15, 2013, Tsarnaev and his older brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev attacked the Boston community at the finish line of the annual Boston Marathon. In May 2015, Tsarnaev was sentenced by a grand jury to death for his role in the attack which left over 260 injured and three dead, including an eight-year-old.

Last Summer under the Trump administration, a federal appeals court overturned the death sentence. According to the court, the trial judge did not adequately question potential jurors regarding whether or not they had familiarity with the case before Tsarnaev’s trial began.

According to the Justice Department, the federal appeals court, "improperly vacated the capital sentences recommended by the jury in one of the most important terrorism prosecutions in our nation's history.” The Justice Department explained that just because a juror has prior exposure to a case, it does not mean they cannot be impartial in their understanding of the facts, evidence, and deliberation.

In last year's federal appeal, Judge O. Rogeriee Thompson decided that a new sentencing phase should take place and that "Dzhokhar will spend his remaining days locked up in prison, with the only matter remaining being whether he will die by execution."

Following the appellate decision to overturn the death sentence, there was understandable anger from the families of Tsarnaevs’ victims. Twenty-nine-year-old Krystle Campbell was one of the three victims who died. Her mother, Patricia Campbell, shared with the Boston Globe after the court’s decision, “I just don’t understand it. It’s just terrible that he’s allowed to live his life. It’s unfair. He didn’t wake up one morning and decide to do what he did. He planned it out. He did a vicious, ugly thing.”

This push from the Department of Justice to reinstate the death penalty is a deviation from the Biden administration’s stance on capital punishment. The 48-page brief filed by the Department of Justice describes Tsarnaev’s actions as “one of the worst” acts of terrorism on U.S. soil since the September 11th terrorist attacks.

Tsarnaev and his older brother Tamerlan begin their attack on the city after the pair used makeshift bombs and placed them at the finish line of the marathon. The days-long manhunt that followed came to a close three days after the bombing in a shootout between Tamerlan Tsarnaev and police officers. The shootout eventually ended with Tsarnaev’s death. The younger Tsarnaev was finally located a day later hiding out inside of a boat in a residential area. One police officer lost his life as well during the manhunt.

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear the appeal and make a decision on whether or not the death penalty be can be reinstated. The case will likely have its day in court sometime next fall with a decision being reached in the summer of 2022. Tsarnaev is currently serving 20 life sentences and regardless of the Supreme Court's decision, Tsarnaev will stay behind bars for the remainder of his life.