Court Overturns Boston Bomber’s Death Sentence

In an unanimous 187 page ruling announced today, a panel of the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals overturned the death sentence given to Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, one of the two radical Muslim jihadist brothers who set off pressure-cooker bombs at the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon, killing three and injuring 260 others.  Nick Givas of Fox News reports that the court found that the trial judge had failed to properly vet the sentencing jurors with regard to possible bias stemming from publicity surrounding the bombing.

Where in America, one might ask, could a trial be held for someone accused of committing one the most brutal terrorist attacks in modern history, where prospective jurors had not heard much about the case?  Maybe Puerto Rico.  The Justice Department has the option of appealing the ruling or holding a new sentencing hearing for the terrorist.  The good news in this case is that shortly after the bombing, Tsarnaev’s older brother was shot and killed in a gunfight with police.