Boston Marathon bomber asks to overturn conviction, toss death sentence

[JacksinPA]

https://thehill.com/regulation/cour...bomber-asks-to-overturn-conviction-toss-death

Lawyers for Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on Thursday asked a federal appeals court to toss his death penalty sentence and overturn his conviction for killing three people and injuring more than 260 others in the 2013 bombing attack, according to multiple reports.

Tsarnaev's lawyers, in a brief filed in the 1st U.S. District Court of Appeals, claim their client could not have received a fair trial in Boston, where reports about the bombing saturated the news.
==================================
Tough justice for a calculating, premeditated mass murderer.

 

[Hawkeye10]

https://thehill.com/regulation/cour...bomber-asks-to-overturn-conviction-toss-death

Lawyers for Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on Thursday asked a federal appeals court to toss his death penalty sentence and overturn his conviction for killing three people and injuring more than 260 others in the 2013 bombing attack, according to multiple reports.

Tsarnaev's lawyers, in a brief filed in the 1st U.S. District Court of Appeals, claim their client could not have received a fair trial in Boston, where reports about the bombing saturated the news.
==================================
Tough justice for a calculating, premeditated mass murderer.

This argument only holds water if the so-called journalists are liars.

 

[OrphanSlug]

Tried and failed argument, no real expectation this will work.

 

[SLC]

So now he wants our justice system to provide him relief after he attacked us. Right let's see how that works for him.

 

[dcsports]

https://thehill.com/regulation/cour...bomber-asks-to-overturn-conviction-toss-death

Lawyers for Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on Thursday asked a federal appeals court to toss his death penalty sentence and overturn his conviction for killing three people and injuring more than 260 others in the 2013 bombing attack, according to multiple reports.

Tsarnaev's lawyers, in a brief filed in the 1st U.S. District Court of Appeals, claim their client could not have received a fair trial in Boston, where reports about the bombing saturated the news.
==================================
Tough justice for a calculating, premeditated mass murderer.

It's very normal to appeal serious crimes. (My state requires that all death penalty cases be fully appealed). It's a very normal part of ensuring due process. That specific argument is a very relevant in this case, and it would have been irresponsible for the attorneys not to include it in the appeal. That doesn't mean the appeal will win, but they have to try.

 

[Roadvirus]

So now he wants our justice system to provide him relief after he attacked us. Right let's see how that works for him.

"I want to kill all of you! But please treat me fairly!"

the piece of **** hasn't got a legal leg to stand on.

 

[apdst]

That piece of **** should have already been executed.

 

[Deuce]

That piece of **** should have already been executed.

No, executions should be incredibly difficult for the state to do.

 

[JacksinPA]

No, executions should be incredibly difficult for the state to do.

In special cases like this one I feel they should put the executions on Pay-per-View & use the proceeds to compensate his victims. Sort like a PSA (public service announcement).

 

[Deuce]

In special cases like this one I feel they should put the executions on Pay-per-View & use the proceeds to compensate his victims. Sort like a PSA (public service announcement).

Oh, well, as long as the government says you're a "special case."

 

[dcsports]

In special cases like this one I feel they should put the executions on Pay-per-View & use the proceeds to compensate his victims. Sort like a PSA (public service announcement).

Something tells me that would fall in the category of 'cruel and unusual punishment'.

 

[haymarket]

Oh, well, as long as the government says you're a "special case."

Look up this fellow to read about a special case who was given justice: Giuseppe Zangara.

Five weeks from crime to conviction to penalty completed. Five weeks.

Now that sends a very very strong societal message.

 

[Tangmo]

Tsarnov's high profile anti capital punishment lawyer Judy Clark quit the case before the appeal was filed. Clark said Tsarnov can benefit from a lawyer new to the case and who has a "fresh perspective." In other words Clark has bailed from the Tsarnov appeals. In direct words Tsarnov is going to fry. Quitely albeit.

Appeal is automatic in federal cases where the death penalty is involved. So the appeal is pro forma.


Of the seven basis to overturn the death penalty, Tsarnov's lawyers are arguing numbers 3, 4, 6 (and certainly not 7).

(1) new evidence suggesting actual innocence,
(2) prosecution failed to provide key evidence for consideration by defense,
(3) judge gave the jury an improper instruction in considering guilt/innocence or sentencing,
(4) judge made a serious error regarding evidence that was admitted/deemed inadmissible,
(5) prosecution engaged in constitutionally impermissible conduct during trial,
(6) there was misconduct related to the seating of the jury or a juror committed misconduct during the trial, and/or
(7) defendant received ineffective assistance from his own lawyers.


While the appeal is pro forma the execution will be done with feeling. This is because Tsarnov is a terrorist and a turncoat against the country of his citizenship. Indeed, recently in the USA the loyalty of certain of its citizens to foreign ideas, values and leaders is greater than their loyalty is to the country, its people, the Constitution. Such people are bottom feeders who must pay the ultimate price of their betrayal.

 

[Tangmo]

Oh, well, as long as the government says you're a "special case."

It is a welcome development indeed and most exceptional for me to support the posture of the government in a capital punishment case....

Prosecutors argued that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's crimes met several legal thresholds to warrant execution — including that multiple people were killed or injured, including an 8-year-old boy; that "substantial planning and premeditation" went into the crimes; and the "heinous, cruel and depraved manner" in which they were committed.

The government raised additional "aggravating factors," including the "betrayal of the United States," the selection of an "iconic event" as a target, the death of a police officer, statements in which Tsarnaev encouraged "others to commit acts of violence and terrorism," the trauma unleashed on victims' families, and Tsarnaev's apparent lack of remorse.

In his closing remarks, Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Mellin called Tsarnaev a coldhearted terrorist.

"The defense will ask you to value the defendant's life, but he did not value the lives of his victims, not even the lives of children,” Mellin said. “He killed indiscriminately to make a political statement, and he placed no value on the lives and didn't care for a second what impact his actions and his killings would have on so many other innocent family members and friends. His actions have earned him a sentence of death.”

The jury agreed.

The jury agreed on death for six of the death penalty counts, all of which focused on Tsarnaev's detonation of a pressure-cooker bomb that killed Martin Richard and Chinese graduate student Lingzi Lu. The third person who died at the race, Krystle Campbell, was killed by a similar bomb detonated by the older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev.

The verdict came despite a distaste for capital punishment in Boston and across Massachusetts. The death penalty was banned in the state 1984, and a convict has not been executed there since 1947. A Boston Globe poll [2015] showed that fewer than 20 percent of state residents favored death for Tsarnaev, down from 33 percent in September 2013.

https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/b...al-jury-reaches-verdict-penalty-phase-n359731


Case closed. Sometimes making a vile crime a federal case is the right thing to do.

 

[apdst]

No, executions should be incredibly difficult for the state to do.

Not if there's overwhelming evidence. This is a case with overwhelming evidence.

 

[Deuce]

Not if there's overwhelming evidence. This is a case with overwhelming evidence.

“Was this person given a fair trial” is a perfectly valid and important question to investigate.

The answer, in this case, is “yep. Trial was fair. Proceed.” But that doesn’t mean we should skip the asking part. Shortcuts in due process are bad.

 

[Deuce]

Look up this fellow to read about a special case who was given justice: Giuseppe Zangara.

Five weeks from crime to conviction to penalty completed. Five weeks.

Now that sends a very very strong societal message.

A strong message, not a good one.

 

[apdst]

“Was this person given a fair trial” is a perfectly valid and important question to investigate.

The answer, in this case, is “yep. Trial was fair. Proceed.” But that doesn’t mean we should skip the asking part. Shortcuts in due process are bad.

In a case without such overwhelming evidence, you're right. However, there is evidence far beyond a "reasonable doubt".

The irony is, there's way more evidence against Tsnarev than there is against President Trump and you KNOW Trump is guilty.

 

[Crosscheck]

This bombing occurred way back in 2013 and we are still farting around with the judicial system. Good grief.

Yes he is legally entitled to an appeal. If found guilty the second time then the court needs to get off their chubby cellulite butts and have the execution within 24 hours of the verdict.

 

[haymarket]

A strong message, not a good one.

That would depend on what the message is and who is its intended recipient.

 

[Deuce]

In a case without such overwhelming evidence, you're right. However, there is evidence far beyond a "reasonable doubt".

The irony is, there's way more evidence against Tsnarev than there is against President Trump and you KNOW Trump is guilty.

I know both of them are guilty and I want due process to run its full and complete course for both of them. What’s ironic?

 

[apdst]

I know both of them are guilty and I want due process to run its full and complete course for both of them. What’s ironic?

No, we know Tsanarev is guilty. You believe President Trump is guilty of a non-existant crime.

Huge difference. :lamo

 

[dcsports]

Tsarnov's high profile anti capital punishment lawyer Judy Clark quit the case before the appeal was filed. Clark said Tsarnov can benefit from a lawyer new to the case and who has a "fresh perspective." In other words Clark has bailed from the Tsarnov appeals. In direct words Tsarnov is going to fry. Quitely albeit.

Appeal is automatic in federal cases where the death penalty is involved. So the appeal is pro forma.


Of the seven basis to overturn the death penalty, Tsarnov's lawyers are arguing numbers 3, 4, 6 (and certainly not 7).

(1) new evidence suggesting actual innocence,
(2) prosecution failed to provide key evidence for consideration by defense,
(3) judge gave the jury an improper instruction in considering guilt/innocence or sentencing,
(4) judge made a serious error regarding evidence that was admitted/deemed inadmissible,
(5) prosecution engaged in constitutionally impermissible conduct during trial,
(6) there was misconduct related to the seating of the jury or a juror committed misconduct during the trial, and/or
(7) defendant received ineffective assistance from his own lawyers.


While the appeal is pro forma the execution will be done with feeling. This is because Tsarnov is a terrorist and a turncoat against the country of his citizenship. Indeed, recently in the USA the loyalty of certain of its citizens to foreign ideas, values and leaders is greater than their loyalty is to the country, its people, the Constitution. Such people are bottom feeders who must pay the ultimate price of their betrayal.

It's also very normal to have a different attorney handle the appeal. It's a different specialty than a trial attorney. And, it's pretty difficult for an attorney to be objective and argue for any mistakes he may have made.

 

[Deuce]

No, we know Tsanarev is guilty. You believe President Trump is guilty of a non-existant crime.

Huge difference. :lamo

Campaign finance violations are crimes. Obstruction of justice is a crime. His charity self-dealing is a crime.

Well-done steak with ketchup would be a crime also if I were in charge.

 

[Tangmo]

It's also very normal to have a different attorney handle the appeal. It's a different specialty than a trial attorney. And, it's pretty difficult for an attorney to be objective and argue for any mistakes he may have made.

Appeals are complicated, compound and complex proceedings that are time consuming and labor intensive. Clark stepped out in favor of an appellate specialist being added to the already specialized appellate team. Clark lost her trial case which was to preclude Tsarnaev getting the death penalty. Clark even brought in a nun to say Tsarnaev seemed to express some remorse. In short Clark inserted herself into the wrong case.

When I said Clark bailed I did not say she should have stayed on the case. Clark simply over extended herself on this case thus taking a big hit to her reputation and to the anti-capital punishment cause which is unfortunate. I guess Clark figured that if she had a chance with an otherwise hopeless case it would be in Massachusetts where the death penalty was removed in 1984. Clark missed the nature of the case however and the government's righteous resolve to go all the way with it. My post mentioned Clark in passing while your post focuses on Clark and the obvious nature of appeals. So this is my more focused and developed reply thx anyway.