Boston Is Eager to Begin Marathon Bombing Trial, and to End It

Boston is preparing for jury selection in the trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who stands accused of bombing the 2013 Boston Marathon. Prosecutors have received authorization from Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. to seek the death penalty in this case. Mr. Tsarnaev's defense attorney, who is known for keeping her clients off of death row, is preparing a defense that casts the defendant as having been manipulated by his older brother.

An initial pool of 1,200 potential jurors — all residents of eastern Massachusetts — has been summoned. Only those potential jurors willing to impose the death penalty can be chosen. The resulting jury will decide whether he is sentenced to life in prison or death, and the jury must be unanimous on a death sentence

“For the defense, they don’t have much of a case to put on, so their best hope is to get someone on that jury who will be a holdout,” said Jeremy M. Sternberg, a former Boston prosecutor with extensive jury trial experience. “They’re looking for people who are anti-authoritarian, who are not afraid to go against the grain.”

READ: Boston Is Eager to Begin Marathon Bombing Trial, and to End It