Judge refuses to release names of jurors in Boston Marathon bombing trial
The federal judge who oversaw the trial of Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has refused a request to release the names of the jurors.
U.S. District Judge George A. O’Toole Jr. said he would eventually release the names, but not until some of the ongoing legal proceedings in the case are over, the Boston Globe reports. The Globe had requested the list of names, saying that it should be part of the public record.
The judge’s decision is based in part on defense lawyers’ requests to examine the social media accounts of the jurors. Defense lawyers have expressed concern that jurors may have been influenced by publicity surrounding the trial.
Defense lawyers have also filed a motion to vacate Tsarnaev’s conviction and death sentence and award him a new trial.
In his decision, O’Toole said it would be inappropriate to allow the media to interview jurors while those requests are pending.
“In light of the arguments raised by the defendant, disclosing juror identities while the post-trial issues remain to be resolved will very likely interfere with the integrity of the proceedings,” he wrote.
Some of the jurors have already given interviews to media outlets, but thus far all have been kept anonymous, the Globe reports.
Tsarnaev, now 22, was convicted in April on all 30 charges related to 2013 bombing, which killed two people and injured dozens of others. In June, Judge O’Toole sentenced him to death.
