A federal appeals court has directed the judge overseeing the trial of Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to investigate claims of juror bias and determine the validity of his death sentence. The court did not overturn Tsarnaev's death sentence but found that the trial judge failed to adequately address the defense's concerns of juror bias.
If the judge concludes that any juror should have been disqualified due to bias, Tsarnaev's death sentence will be vacated, and a new penalty-phase trial will be held to decide his fate. The appeals court emphasized that regardless of the outcome, Tsarnaev will spend the rest of his life in prison.
