Jurors in the federal death penalty trial of Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev must stay away from this year's marathon and any events related to the anniversary of the 2013 attack, a judge warned Tuesday.
Judge George O'Toole Jr. called jurors in to court to give them the warning as they wait for the penalty phase of the trial to begin April 21. The second anniversary of the bombings is Wednesday. This year's marathon is scheduled for April 20.
O'Toole said he gave jurors the warning in court — despite the fact that most of them live outside Boston — to stress the importance of avoiding any events related to the marathon and media coverage of the events.
"I trust that you have been doing this all along," O'Toole said.
The marathon is run on Patriots' Day, a holiday in Massachusetts that commemorates the first battles of the Revolutionary War.
Last week, Tsarnaev was convicted of all 30 charges against him. O'Toole told the jury that the next phase of the trial — called the penalty phase — is expected to last about four weeks. The same jury will be asked to decide if Tsarnaev should be sentenced to death or spend the rest of his life in prison.
Three people were killed and more than 260 were injured when two bombs exploded near the finish line of the marathon April 15, 2013.
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