Federal Court Denies Boston Bomber’s Request to Remove Judge Overseeing Death Sentence Appeal

Comments made by the judge on a podcast did not constitute grounds for his removal, the court found.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who was convicted and sentenced to death for carrying out the Boston Marathon bombing attack on April 15, 2013, in a photograph released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on April 19, 2013. FBI via AP

A federal appeals court on July 31 denied a request by lawyers for the Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to remove the judge overseeing his death sentence appeal. Tsarnaev’s lawyers cite the judge’s comments on a podcast as reason for recusal.

Tsarnaev was convicted in 2015 of helping carry out the 2013 bombing that killed three people and injured more than 260 near the Boston marathon finish line.