BOSTON, MA- Last month, we reported here at Law Enforcement Today details pertaining to updates on the remaining Boston Bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who’s currently on 23-hour lockdown awaiting his death sentence.

Well, that death sentence may be obfuscated in the near future if a federal appeal overturns the sentence.

What we reported last month detailed an endeavor by Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s attorney to leverage information he might have regarding a grisly triple homicide at a Massachusetts residence in 2011 that was allegedly committed by Tamerlan Tsarnaev, Dzhokhar brother.

Well, this federal appeal isn’t about potential information on an unsolved murder; this pertains to claims of a biased jury.

So, what kind of tainting of the jury are we looking at exactly?

Well, Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev could avoid the death penalty if a federal court overturns the conviction on account of a couple of jurors’ pre-trial social media posts indicating that they may have been biased.

An Obama appointee on the First Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals in Boston, Judge William Kayatta, had a long conversation with prosecutors this past Thursday, during which he sounded skeptical about the inclusion of two jurors in the trial.

Apparently, the judge relayed the following sentiments:

“You’ve got lots of qualifiable jurors in Boston. You just need to make sure the government doesn’t cause the court to pick the wrong ones. That’s what it sounds like you did.”

The judge likely got the notion from none other than Dzhokhar Tsarnaev defense, who claimed that the trial wasn’t fair for a number of reasons, but cited a tainted jury due to them having knowledge and predisposed thoughts on the case.

The lawyers argued that two jurors lied about their knowledge of the case, citing a tweet posted by one juror saying:

“Congratulations to all of the law enforcement professionals who worked so hard and went through hell to bring in that piece of garbage.”

One juror had a Facebook post where he was advised by his buddies to “play the part” in order to get into the trial and convict Tsarnaev.

Of course, Tsarnaev’s lawyers asked that these two jurors be excused from the trial before it began, but prosecutors said they didn’t show any bias.

Judge George O’Toole, who was presiding, had agreed as well. Still, even if there was minute bias or knowledge, it’s somewhat immaterial. You can’t have a completely unaware jury in a national headline case.

On top of the notion that the jury was tainted, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev also mentioned that the case should never have been tried in Boston to begin with. In a legal brief filed by Dzhokhar Tsarnaev attorney, it stated:

“This case should not have been tried in Boston. Tsarnaev admitted heinous crimes, but even so – perhaps especially so — this trial demanded scrupulous adherence to the requirements of the Constitution and federal law. Again and again, this trial fell short.”

Three people died and 260 more were wounded during the assault carried out by Tsarnaev and his brother Tamerlan on April 15, 2013.

The attorneys have argued that O’Toole did not allow them to provide proof that Tsarnaev’s brother Tamerlan executed a triple murder in 2011.

Yet, while that aspect of a triple murder could have detailed insight into previous criminality from one of the deceased bombers, it honestly didn’t bear any relevance to the terror attack carried out in 2013.

Tsarnaev’s lawyers admitted his involvement in the bombing during his trial and argued for a life sentence rather than the death penalty. They argued that the attack was orchestrated by Tamerlan and that he was responsible primarily for it.

Prosecutors disagreed, and said that Tsarnaev had been rightly convicted and sentenced, and the trial has been fair:

“Tsarnaev received a fair trial in Boston, and the district court did not abuse its discretion by refusing to move the trial elsewhere. The jurors who tried and sentenced Tsarnaev were unbiased.”

As it stands, if the sentence is overturned, the prosecution may allow Tsarnaev to accept a life sentence, or they could start a new death penalty trial.

If upheld, Tsarnaev’s lawyers could appeal their case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

While the legal team for an accused terrorist is obligated to offer the best defense, the legal team of a convicted terrorist trying to preserve an extremist is nothing short of disgustingly alarming.

As Michele McPhee previously reported for Law Enforcement Today, it was nearly seven years ago when Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was pulled from a bullet-scarred hull of a dry-docked boat in Watertown.

By then a little boy, Martin Richard, and two young women, Linzi Lu and Krystal Marie Campbell, were killed in two horrific blasts Tsarnaev detonated with his brother Tamerlan near the finish line of the Boston Marathon.

MIT Police Officer Sean Collier was executed in cold blood by cowards and Transit Police Officer Dic Donohue was fighting for his life after being shot during a wild bomb and bullet battle between cops and the bombers in Watertown.

Another BPD Officer DJ Simmonds would die later of injuries he sustained during that firefight.

Tamerlan was shot 9 times by Watertown Police Sgt. Jeff Pugliesi and then run over and dragged to his death by his brother. Dzhokhar would be convicted April 8, 2015 and later sentenced to death.

Now Dzhokhar is being held in solitary confinement at ADX SuperMax spending 23 hours in his cell a day with one hour of solitary “yard time.” He has 50 channels of DirectTV piped into his cell, according to court records.

His lawyers are trying to keep Dzhokhar alive. His taxpayer-funded defense points to the still unsolved murder of three young mixed martial arts fighters in Waltham committed, they and my sources say, by Tamerlan Tsarnaev and Ibragim Todashev on the ten-year anniversary of 9/11, as evidence that Dzhokhar was afraid of his brother. Todashev was shot dead by a Boston FBI agent in the weeks after the marathon bombing — his last words a hand-written blood stained confession about the triple slaying he did with Tamerlan. Read: Chief Ethics Officer Resigns Following Botched Smollett Prosecution

Officials do not believe the Tsarnaev brothers built the bombs but have not explained who did. The survivors, among them 17 amputees, continue to overcome the physical and emotional pain inflicted that dark Patriots Day afternoon. First responders still grapple with the trauma.

And questions remain unanswered.

#BostonStrong

Editor Note: Michele McPhee is a three-time Emmy-nominated television investigative producer in Boston for ABC News Brian Ross Investigative Unit. She broke the story about the FBI tie to the brothers. Last year, she wrote a scathing piece demanding FBI accountability. It’s as relevant today – if not more – as it was then.

Holding the FBI Accountable