(CNN) The surviving Boston Marathon bomber who was sentenced to death for his role in the terror plot that killed four and left the city under siege in April 2013, is hoping his legal team's appeal will give him his life back.

Lawyers representing Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 26, made opening statements on Thursday morning to the 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals in hopes of overturning his death sentence

Attorney Daniel Habib argued that Tsarnaev did not get a fair trial because Boston was the scene of the mayhem. He argued that the jury was made up of people directly affected by the terror plot who already had made up their mind about Tsarnaev.

Habib spoke about how all of Boston was traumatized by the bombing, with some forced to shelter in place during the manhunt and others who spilled into the streets and cheered when Tsarnaev was caught.

"It was the extraordinary effect of this crime on the community," Habib said. "This community atmosphere filtered to the actual jury."

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