WASHINGTON , — Wednesday’s Supreme Court hearing indicated its willingness to reinstate the death penalty for Dzhokhar Takaranev, convicted Boston Marathon bomber.
After more than 90 minutes worth of arguments, six conservative justices of the court seemed to agree with the Biden administration’s argument about how a federal appeals court wrongly dismissed Tsarnaev’s death sentence for his involvement in the bombing which killed three runners near the finish line in 2013.
The 1st U.S. The Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston ruled that the trial judge had excluded evidence that might have indicated that Tsarnaev was heavily influenced by Tamerlan and was therefore less responsible for the carnage. The judge was also criticized by the appeals court for failing to adequately question jurors about their exposures to extensive coverage of the bombing.
