Reading Time: 3 minutes The U.S. District Court judge who presided over the trial of convicted Boston Marathon Bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev seems to have forgotten crucial details about the jury pool he interviewed during voir dire. Why do I seem to remember more about this aspect of the trial than the presiding judge?When I heard that Judge George O’Toole Read More
Reading Time: 2 minutes The death penalty verdict in the high-profile case of the Boston Bombing, covered extensively by WhoWhatWhy, is still under appeal — but that’s not stopping the jurist from commenting publicly on the matter. On April 6, at Boston College, Judge George O’Toole will join a panel of Boston College law experts to discuss judicial responses Read More
Reading Time: 3 minutes The evidence suggests the FBI went to extraordinary lengths to set up one of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s best friends, to ensure his help in convicting the accused Boston Marathon bomber. Stephen Silva, who testified against Tsarnaev, was released on December 22, 2015, and is now a free man after being sentenced to time served:17 months. Had he not agreed to testify for the prosecution, he would have faced a maximum of 40 years for selling heroin — something the FBI manipulated him into doing.
Reading Time: 7 minutes The Cold Case of the death of a hot reporter. Was there more to it than a tragic accident? And why did the media not look into this affair, given the kinds of things Hastings was investigating, and the unusual details of his final seconds.
Reading Time: 8 minutes A friend of convicted Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was sentenced to six years in prison—after cooperating with the FBI in its investigation. Other known Tsarnaev associates who did not cooperate were let off without so much as a questioning. What is going on here?
Reading Time: 7 minutes Viskhan Vakhabov received a phone call from the Tsarnaev brothers—one of whom is now dead, the other just sentenced to death—in a crucial moment in the immediate aftermath of the Boston Marathon Bombings. Why did the government fail to speak with him about his involvement?
Reading Time: 3 minutes The narrative of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev as a radicalized religious zealot isn’t necessarily in keeping with case evidence.