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Boston Marathon bombings trial: Tsarnaev jury selection begins Boston Marathon bombings trial: Dzhokhar Tsarnaev jury selection begins
(about 2 hours later)
Jury selection for the trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, accused in the Boston Marathon attacks, begins on Monday, with those chosen to decide whether Tsarnaev planned and carried out the twin bombings that killed three people and injured more than 260 near the finish line of the race on 15 April 2013. Potential jurors stared intently at Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev as jury selection in his federal death penalty trial began Monday under tight security.
If the jury finds him guilty, they will decide whether he should be put to death. Tsarnaev, flanked by his attorneys, sat at a table in the front of the jury assembly room. Wearing a dark sweater and khaki trousers, he picked at his beard, looked at the potential jurors and looked at the judge.
It is perhaps the most closely watched federal death penalty case since Timothy McVeigh was convicted and executed for the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. Tsarnaev’s lawyers tried in vain for months to get the trial moved, arguing the Boston jury pool was tainted because of the number of locals with connections to the race. They drew parallels to the McVeigh case, which was moved for similar reasons. Over the next three days, about 1,200 people will be called to federal court to be considered as potential jurors. The first 200 were given initial instructions Monday by Judge George O’Toole Jr. Twelve jurors and six alternates are to be selected.
Jury selection is expected to take several weeks because of extensive media coverage. The process also could be slowed if potential jurors express objections to the death penalty. The judge said the trial will begin on 26 January and will last three to four months.
Some legal observers say Tsarnaev’s lawyers, facing powerful evidence against him, will probably focus their energies on the penalty phase, when they could present mitigating evidence to spare his life. The courthouse was under tight security Monday, with dozens of police officers inside and outside the building. One bombing victim, Karen Brassard, was outside the jury room waiting to observe jury selection. There were no Tsarnaev supporters outside the courthouse as there have been during pretrial hearings.
Prosecutors say the 21-year-old and his brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev – ethnic Chechens who had lived in the US for about a decade – carried out the bombings as retaliation for US actions in Muslim countries. The brothers are also accused of killing a Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer. Tamerlan, 26, died after a shootout with police several days after the bombings. The jury will decide whether Tsarnaev planned and carried out the twin bombings that killed three people and injured more than 260 near the finish line of the race on 15 April, 2013.
Dzhokhar was captured later that day, wounded, hiding inside a boat stored in a suburban yard. Prosecutors said he described a motive in a note written in the boat saying “the US government is killing our innocent civilians” and “we Muslims are one body, you hurt one you hurt us all”. If they find him guilty, they also will decide whether he should be put to death. Survivors and first responders are among those expected to testify.
Tsarnaev’s lawyers may lay the groundwork for some kind of mental health explanation, said Christopher Dearborn, a professor at Suffolk University law school. That could include any persecution his family might have suffered as ethnic minorities in Kyrgyzstan, where the brothers spent most of their lives before moving to the US with their parents and two sisters. Heather Abbott, of Newport, Rhode Island, who lost her left leg below the knee in the attacks, said her biggest question may be an unanswerable one: “Why?”
“I think the real value in that may be to start to try to generate even a little bit of empathy around this and humanise the kid a little bit, hopefully enough to save a life,” Dearborn said. “I don’t know whether I’ll ever get any answer to that question, but I guess I want to understand what the thought process was,” said Abbott, who plans to attend some of the proceedings. “Why he would want to do this to people ... it’s really hard to understand.”
At least one of three college friends convicted of lying or impeding the investigation is expected to testify against Tsarnaev. Another friend who pleaded guilty to possessing a gun used to kill a police officer during the manhunt is also expected to testify for the prosecution. The trial, which likely will last several months, is perhaps the most scrutinized case of its kind since Timothy McVeigh was convicted and executed for the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.
Supporters of Tsarnaev have demonstrated outside the courthouse during pretrial hearings. Tsarnaev’s lawyers tried for months to get the trial moved, arguing the Boston jury pool was tainted because of the number of locals with connections to the race. They drew parallels to the McVeigh case, which was moved to Denver for similar reasons. But US District Judge George O’Toole Jr, who is presiding over the case, refused.
Heather Abbott, who lost part of her left leg in the bombings, is one of several victims who plan to attend at least part of the trial. She said she hoped to gain some understanding of the motive. Jury selection is expected to be a lengthy process because of extensive media coverage and the thousands of runners, spectators and others in the area affected by the bombings. The process also could be slowed if potential jurors express objections to the death penalty.
“I don’t see it as something that will get me past the horror of that day,” she said. “It’s something that I will always live with.” Prosecutors say 21-year-old Dzhokhar and his brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev – ethnic Chechens who had lived in the United States for about a decade – carried out the bombings as retaliation for US actions in Muslim countries. Tamerlan, 26, died after a firefight with police several days after the bombings.
The defense is expected to argue that Dzhokhar had a difficult childhood and was heavily influenced by his elder brother, who authorities believe became radicalized in the last few years of his life, including during a six-month trip to Dagestan and Chechnya in 2012.