Tsarnaev was convicted in the deaths of 3 people at the 2013 Boston Marathon and sentenced to death. This sentence was reinstated by the Supreme Court last year. Defense attorneys are alleging again that the trial judge erred in failing to investigate allegations that 2 jurors committed misconduct by lying during jury selection. One juror denied commenting about the case online but had retweeted a post calling Tsarnaev a "piece of garbage." Another allegedly received a message from a friend urging them to "play the part" in order to get on the jury and insure Tsarnaev went to jail to get what he deserves.
In several posts here over the years I have emphasized that trial judges must not simply ignore these types of allegations of misconduct at the risk of trying the case all over again at great cost to all involved. All allegations, whether seemingly trivial or not, should be thoroughly investigated even if it lengthens the trial time. Defendants are entitled to fair trials under our Constitution regardless of the seriousness of the offense.
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