Lawyers for convicted Boston bomber argue that SCOTUS decision taints death sentence
Lawyers for convicted Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev are citing a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in a bid to obtain a new capital sentencing hearing.
U.S. District Judge George O’Toole Jr. heard the lawyers’ arguments on the sentencing issue on Tuesday, report the Boston Globe and Fox News.
Defense lawyers argue that Tsarnaev’s death sentence was tainted because 15 of the 30 counts on which he was convicted were called into question by the June 26 decision Johnson v. United States (PDF). In that case, the Supreme Court struck down part of the Armed Career Criminals Act because one of its definitions of a violent felony was unconstitutionally vague.
University of California at Irvine law dean Erwin Chemerinsky pointed out in this article for ABAJournal.com that several other laws use language similar to that struck down as vague in Johnson, including a law involving use of a firearm during a crime of violence. Tsaernev was convicted of 15 counts under that firearm law and sentenced to death before the Johnson decision, his lawyers say in court papers (PDF).
Lawyers are also seeking a new trial based on a presumption of jury prejudice due to ongoing publicity and community connections, but that issue was not before the judge on Tuesday.
Hat tip to Sentencing Law and Policy.
