Boston Marathon bomber seeks to avoid death penalty

Lawyers for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev are arguing to avoid death penalty. The lawyers are arguing during the hearing before the 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston. Lawyers are seeking to have their client's death sentenced overturned, arguing that he was subjected to a “fundamentally unfair proceeding.”

Boston Marathon bomber seeks to avoid death penalty 

They say it was impossible to find a fair and impartial jury in Boston just two years removed from the April 15, 2013, attack, which killed three people and injured more than 260. “This case should not have been tried in Boston,” the lawyers wrote in their legal brief. “Tsarnaev admitted heinous crimes, but even so perhaps especially so this trial demanded scrupulous adherence to the requirements of the Constitution and federal law. Again and again this trial fell short.” Tsarnaev’s lawyers also point to two jurors who lied about what they knew about the attacks.

READ: SHAMEFUL: Pakistan Targets Civilians Along International Border, Shells Mortars In Uri

In one instance, a juror published two dozen Twitter posts in the aftermath of the bombings, including retweeting one after Tsarnaev’s arrest that read: “Congratulations to all of the law enforcement professionals who worked so hard and went through hell to bring in that piece of garbage.”

That juror, who would go one to become the foreperson, or chief spokesperson, had also tweeted about her family’s experience sheltering in place along with thousands of other greater Boston residents during the hunt for the bombers, Tsarnaev’s lawyers said. Another juror posted on Facebook as he was going through the jury selection process. His friends encouraged him to “play the part” in order to get on the jury and make sure Tsarnaev was convicted.

Tsarnaev’s lawyers raised the social media comments as reasons to disqualify the two jurors before the trial started, but prosecutors downplayed them, saying they weren’t indicative of bias. Judge George O’Toole agreed and allowed them to remain on the case.

READ: Afghan Bomber Hits Medical Facility Near Bagram Air Base