Acting Boston mayor says she opposes death penalty for Tsarnaev

BOSTON — Boston’s top politician says she is “strongly opposed” to the death penalty for Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

Acting Boston Mayor Kim Janey made her remarks this week and tweeted out her stance on the matter on Wednesday, one day after President Joe Biden’s administration urged the Supreme Court to reinstate capital punishment for Tsarnaev.

“I remain strongly opposed to the death penalty, for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev or anyone else, and respect the independence of our judiciary as this case continues,” Janey said.

Last summer, the U.S. Court of Appeals vacated the death sentence for Tsarnaev. He is currently serving multiple life sentences, but the Department of Justice is going to the Supreme Court, asking to reinstate Tsarnaev’s death penalty.

MORE: Court could reimpose Boston marathon bomber’s death sentence

Tsarnaev and his brother Tamerlan are responsible for setting off bombs at the Boston Marathon finish line in 2013 that killed three people and injured more than 260 others.

“The Boston Marathon bombing was a traumatic experience for me and so many others at the site of the explosion in 2013,” Janey tweeted. “I’m grateful for all the ways our city has come together to rebuild and reconnect since that tragedy.”

Last summer, the U.S. Court of Appeals threw out the death penalty. It claimed the trial court didn’t adequately take into account jury bias and also how much Tamerlan influenced his younger brother.

That fall, then President Trump appealed the decision to the Supreme Court.

Even though Biden called for an end to capital punishment in his presidential campaign, he calls for the death penalty in this case.

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