WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — A Boston court selected eight men and 10 women as jurors on Tuesday to hear the US federal prosecutors’ case against Dzhokhar Tsarnaev for his alleged role in the Boston Marathon bombings, according to The Boston Herald.
The all-white jury will hear opening statements on Wednesday in a trial that is expected to last into the summer.
More than 1,000 potential jurors were questioned over a two month period that whittled the potential pool down to the final 18, which include a restaurant manager, a legal secretary, a house painter, an unemployed auditor and a number of retirees, according to court documents.
The 18 jurors will hear evidence presented against Tsarnaev, but at the end of the trial 12 jurors will be chosen for deliberation to decide whether he is guilty.
Tsarnaev’s brother Tamerlan was killed in a shootout with police four days after the terrorist attack. More than 260 people were injured and three were killed in the blasts.
In his first public court appearance in July, 2013, Tsarnaev pleaded not guilty to all charges.
US District Judge George O'Toole, who is overseeing the trial, said at the beginning of the jury selection that if Tsarnaev is convicted, the jury will decide on whether or not to impose the death penalty. All potential jurors affirmed during the jury selection process that they would be able to rule for the death penalty.
