Supreme Court Clashes Over Bid To Execute Boston Marathon BomberBiden administration pushes death penalty as DOJ pauses federal executions
Kevin Daley • October 13, 2021 6:15 pm
Members of the Supreme Court clashed Wednesday morning over the government’s bid to execute Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
The justices heard arguments for 90 minutes over a federal appeals court decision that upheld Dzhokhar’s 2015 convictions but overturned the death sentence. The Biden administration is asking the High Court to reimpose the death penalty for Dzhokhar, even though Attorney General Merrick Garland has imposed a moratorium on federal executions. ...
Justice Amy Coney Barrett pressed government lawyer Eric Feigin to explain the government’s "end game" in Dzhokhar’s case, given that Garland has suspended federal executions. Feigin didn’t say that the Biden administration will put Dzhokhar to death. But he noted that the appeals process will take years, a tacit concession that some future attorney general could authorize Dzhokhar’s execution.
"The administration continues to believe the jury imposed a sound verdict and the court of appeals was wrong to upset that verdict," Feigin said.
Wednesday’s arguments were spirited throughout and at times heated. At one point, Justices Elena Kagan and Brett Kavanaugh broke with usual form and engaged with each other directly, rather than direct questions toward the lawyers on hand. ...
Washington Free Beacon