BOSTON (
MyFoxBoston.com) – A jury was finally seated Tuesday in the trial of accused Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, after a selection process that took nearly two months.
Jury selection began Jan. 5, and over the course of three days, 1,373 people appeared at the John Joseph Moakley U.S. Courthouse in Boston and filled out lengthy questionnaires that asked everything from their occupation, to their views on the death penalty. Then, jurors who qualified to the next stage were called back to federal court and questioned individually by a Judge George O'Toole, prosecutors and defense attorneys, in a process called voir dire.
Close to 300 people were questioned, with the judge and lawyers asking potential jurors to elaborate on the answers they wrote in their questionnaires. From that pool, the judge then provisionally qualified approximately 70 people. Each side was then able to excuse 23 jurors each, for any cause, at the final stage of jury selection on Tuesday.
The final, seated jury consists of 12 jurors and six alternates, who will fill in if any of the 12 is excused before the end of the trial.
So who are the 18 who were chosen to serve? They are 10 women and eight men. Although they have not been identified by name, we do know some facts about them after their interviews.
Juror 35: Is a middle-aged man who works for the state in the energy department. He told the judge he would be honored to serve on a jury. Though he has followed some media coverage of the case, he is unsure if Tsarnaev is guilty or not. He said he could vote for the death penalty, if evidence was available that it was the appropriate punishment. He attended a fundraiser for the One Fund between three and six months after the bombings, but has no other personal connection to the events.
Juror 41: Is a middle-aged woman who is a senior executive assistant at a large Massachusetts company. She has served as a juror on two previous trials. She said though she knows what happened during the Marathon bombings, she does not read or watch the news often and has not formed an opinion around Tsarnaev's guilt or innocence. She has no opinion about the death penalty, and said she would have to hear circumstances and evidence of the case before making a decision.
Juror 83: Is a young man who is a student. He had previously formed an opinion that Tsarnaev is guilty but said he can stay open to putting aside his opinion and listening to the evidence of the case. His mother is a native of Iran and he speaks Farsi. His family is not religious. He believes the death penalty is a valid punishment, and can be merciful in some cases.
Juror 102: Is a woman who was formerly a nurse. She has not come to any determination if Tsarnaev is guilty or not. Though she watched the events of the bombing unfold on television, she said “I didn't know the defendant's name until court,” speaking of Tsarnaev. She is open to imposing the death penalty.
Juror 138: Is a man who works for the water department of a local town. He said he would wait until he heard the facts of the case to make a decision on Tsarnaev's guilt or innocence. He could impose life in prison without the possibility of parole, or the death penalty, adding that it would have to be a “pretty serious situation” to vote for the death penalty. He also said he believes sometimes life in prison is a worse punishment than the death penalty, which could be the “easy way out.”
Juror 229: Is an event planner. She was formerly a social worker who worked with children and adolescents. She said that from what she saw on television, she believes Tsarnaev was involved in the bombings but has no opinion on his guilt at this point. Though she once was staunchly against the death penalty, she said having children changed her view and she now believes the death penalty should be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
Juror 286: Is a general manager at a restaurant, in her late 30s or early 40s. Regarding Tsarnaev's guilt or innocence, she said she believes the police got who they were looking for when they arrested him, but she does not think she knows all the facts. She believes she could vote to impose the death penalty, and believes it would be the defendant's action that caused the penalty, not her. She feels jury service is an important civic duty.
Juror 349: Was out of the state when the Boston Marathon bombings occurred. She works in product development for a clothing company. She said that she had formed an opinion that Tsarnaev was guilty, but believes she could put aside her opinion and be unbiased during the trial. She could vote to impose the death penalty.
Juror 395: Is an older woman who works as a legal assistant. She said she had previously formed an opinion that Tsarnaev is guilty, but could keep an open mind, adding that there are “different degrees of guilt,” and she would need to hear the facts of the case. She is unsure about imposing the death penalty, noting she would have to hear the facts of the case before voting to impose either punishment.
Juror 441: Is a young man who lost his job as an auditor recently. He is open to imposing the death penalty. It is unclear if he has formed an opinion regarding Tsarnaev's guilt.
Juror 480: Is a man who works as a communications engineer at a Boston hospital. He was at the hospital the day of the bombings when victims were brought into the hospital, but did not have contact with anyone treating the victims. It is unclear if he has formed an opinion regarding Tsarnaev's guilt. As far as a punishment, he believes he could vote either way, and added that life in prison without the possibility of parole could be just as bad as the death penalty.
Juror 487: Is a woman with four children who works in a local school system. She had formed an opinion that Tsarnaev is guilty and played a role in the bombings, but would be open to putting her opinion aside to hear evidence presented at trial. She is open to imposing the death penalty. She is concerned about the “gruesomeness” of the evidence that might be presented and believes it will be difficult to hear testimony about the death of 8-year-old Martin Richard.
Juror 552: Is an older man who is retired from the telecommunications industry. He believes everyone is innocent until proven guilty and has no connection to the Marathon bombings or their aftermath. He said he has no strong feelings about the death penalty and could vote to impose it, though he believes life in prison could be worse than the death penalty.
Juror 567: Is man who works as an air traffic controller. Though he believes Tsarnaev was involved in the bombings, he does not know to what extent and does not have an opinion on Tsarnaev's guilt or innocence. He is skeptical of media reports in general. He is open to either punishment, life in prison, or the death penalty.
Juror 588: Is a woman in her 30s. She works in sales at a bookstore chain. She is generally against the death penalty but believes there are certain circumstances in which she thinks she could impose it. She has not formed an opinion related to Tsarnaev's guilt or innocence.
Juror 598: Is a middle-aged man who works as a house painter, and said he would be honored to serve on a jury, and added that it would set an example of civic duty for his children. He is unsure about Tsarnaev's guilt or innocence because he does not like to have any “preconceived notion” or listen solely to media reports. He would be open to imposing the death penalty.
Juror 608: Is a woman who is retired but previously worked as an actuary. She is waiting to hear evidence of the trial to decide if Tsarnaev is guilty or not, and would be open to imposing the death penalty or life in prison. “I'm a mathematician, I think in terms of probability,” she added. One of her family members was killed in the World Trade Center on Sept. 11.
Juror 638: Works for the state providing services to developmentally disabled residents. She said she does not follow the news and would need to hear arguments from both sides to decide if Tsarnaev is guilty or not. She is open to voting to impose either penalty.
