Lawyers representing the accused Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev are urgently pushing to move the upcoming trial out of the state of Massachusetts.
Tsarnaev, is being accused of plotting and executing two bombings (the Boston Marathon) with his older brother, Tamerlan. While police killed his brother shortly after the bombings, Tsarnaev was arrested and pleaded not guilty for the attacks, and is currently awaiting trial. The only problem is, it is unsure when the trial will take place.
This is the third time the attorneys have asked to move the location because after a recent poll, 68 percent of the 1,337 Boston-area residents called, as prospective jurors believe their client is guilty, and this would not give the alleged bomber a fair trial, while just 25 percent decreed that they were unsure.
One of Tsarnaev’s attorneys, Timothy Watkins, wrote in a filing that, “Stronger support for a finding of presumed prejudice in Boston is difficult to imagine. The existing record precludes a fair trial in Boston.”
The court is attempting to pull 70 unbiased jurors, but the process has reportedly been very slow because people’s opinions are very high, and it is a very emotional stricken case. Once they have 70 potential jurors they will narrow it down to 12.
Tsarnaev’s attorneys do not believe that the process will ever finish because of these facts. They do not believe that they will ever receive a fair trial in Boston.
One potential juror stated, “We all know he’s guilty so quit wasting everyone’s time with a jury and string him up,” showing that people may not even listen to the case, but already have their decisions made.
Tsarnaev is being accused of killing 5 and injuring 280 that day of the marathon. That number is high, so many people around the court probably know someone affected by the bombing making them impartial. While justice needs to be made, everyone in this country is innocent till proven guilty, and needs to be given the right to a fair trial.
Photo: AP
