The Supreme Court of the United States heard oral arguments on Wednesday in United States v. Tsarnaev, a case involving the Biden administration’s request that SCOTUS reinstate a death sentence for Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. The case is an unusual example of what some in the legal community have called „cognitive dissonance,“ in which the Biden administration is advocating a position that is in clear conflict with its stated policy goals.
The Supreme Court of the United States heard oral arguments on Wednesday in United States v. Tsarnaev, a case involving the Biden administration’s request that SCOTUS reinstate a death sentence for Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. The case is an unusual example of what some in the legal community have called “cognitive dissonance,” in which the Biden administration is advocating a position that is in clear conflict with its stated policy goals. Biden pledged to end the death penalty, and called for a moratorium on all federal executions — a position that stands in stark contrast to the multiple federal executions carried out in the final days of the Trump administration. In the case before SCOTUS, however, the Department of Justice maintains that the justices should reinstate the death penalty thrown out by the federal appellate court. Tsarnaev was tried for his role in the 2013 bombings which killed three people and injured hundreds of others. At the 2015 trial, Tsarnaev admitted to taking part in the bombing, but argued that he had been heavily influenced by his brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who died while fleeing police after the bombing. A jury found Dzhokhar Tsarnaev guilty, and sentenced him to death.
