Death Penalty in Massachusetts

While doing some research about double jeopardy for a client, we came across documents talking about double jeopardy in the Boston Bomber’s  (Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s) case.  With some extra time on hand, curiosity led to reading more of the documents on his docket.  Upon reading the docket, it became apparent that one of the most interesting issues that not many people are talking about is the use of the death penalty.

For those of you that don’t know, our government is seeking the death penalty. See below:

When it comes to the death penalty, Massachusetts, and our nation, have had a complicated history. The attitudes, opinions, and laws in Massachusetts have flip-flopped.

Massachusetts executed its first person in 1630, but has not executed anybody since 1947. In 1972, a ruling by Supreme Court of United States halted death penalties nationwide, including Massachusetts. In response, Massachusetts made numerous legislative efforts to make execution legal again. One notable effort was a voter approved constitutional amendment in 1982 allowing for the death penalty in Massachusetts. But it was thrown out by the Supreme Judicial Court in 1984 on the grounds that it forced defendants to plead guilty in order to avoid the death penalty. As a result of the laws and circumstances, Massachusetts hasn’t executed anybody since 1947. Yet, not so with the federal government.

Since 1994, the year where federal execution became came legal again, via the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 and the Anti-terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, four people from Massachusetts were executed by the federal government. Likely, Tsarnaev will be the fifth. And, as the trial begins in 2014, the death penalty debate will heat up – there’s lots of opinions about the death penalty. It will be curious to see how the public responds to this issue.

Oh,  and in case you are curious about that double jeopardy issue, that initial matter that led us to reflect on the Boston bombers case, here’s what Tsarnaev’s lawyers say (there has been no ruling on this issue, yet):