Boston could prove sympathetic to marathon bombing suspect

BOSTON — Given the powerful grief and anger over the Boston Marathon bombing, Boston would seem to be a particularly hostile place for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to stand trial. But it might just be his best hope of escaping a death sentence.

Opposition to the death penalty runs deep in liberal Massachusetts. In a Boston Globe survey in September, 57 percent of Massachusetts residents polled favored life in prison for Tsarnaev, while 33 percent favored execution.

As Tsarnaev’s lawyers weigh whether to attempt to move his trial out of town, away from those most deeply traumatized by the bombing, some legal experts say staying put might be a better strategy, even though emotions in the city are raw.

“I’d rather take my shot with the citizens of Massachusetts,” said Christopher Dearborn, a professor at Boston’s Suffolk Law School. “We’re at the highest irony here: We’re going to have a death penalty trial in a state where a majority of our citizens don’t support the death penalty.”

Federal prosecutors announced Thursday that they will seek the death penalty against Tsarnaev, 20, when he goes on trial in the bombing last April that killed three people and injured more than 260 at the crowded finish line of the race. No trial date has been set.

Massachusetts abolished its death penalty in 1984, and repeated attempts to reinstate it have failed in the Legislature. But Tsarnaev is being prosecuted under federal law.

If he is convicted, the jury will take part in a second phase of the trial to decide whether he should get life or death. The jury must be unanimous for a death sentence to be imposed.

During jury selection, potential jurors will be asked about their views on capital punishment. To be selected, they must attest that they are willing to impose death if the evidence warrants it. Federal prosecutors have asked a jury for the death penalty in Massachusetts in two other cases.