--- description: The criteria for being a juror could clash with the teachings of the church, which forbids the death penalty if other punishments suffice title: Boston Bomber Jury Service Could Be a Faith Test for Catholics image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd37b6c0e38d763e7/69877bd106f2c1961133397a/461053646.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Catholics Selected for the Boston Bomber Jury Could Be Going Against Their Faith by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 26, 2015 4:09 AM CUT  Jury selection for the trial of the Boston Marathon bomber started on Jan. 5, 2015 at Moakley Federal Court. A jogger runs past police vehicles in front of the courthouse Jury selection for the trial of the Boston Marathon bomber started on Jan. 5, 2015 at Moakley Federal Court. A jogger runs past police vehicles in front of the courthouseJohn Tlumacki—Boston Globe/Getty Images by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 26, 2015 4:09 AM CUT There is a [distinct possibility](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/01/25/boston-bombing-jury-selection-excludes-observant-catholics/22121061/ "undefined") that many of Boston’s 2 million Roman Catholics won’t be able to perform jury service in the trial of alleged Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev without violating their faith. The criteria for selecting jurors requires them to be able to sentence the accused to death should that eventuality arise, _USA Today_ reports. According to the teachings of the Catholic Church, however, the death penalty must not be used if “nonlethal means are sufficient to defend and protect people’s safety from the aggressor.” “It is both ironic and unfortunate that Catholics who understand and embrace this teaching will be systematically excluded from the trial,” the Rev. James Bretzke, professor of moral theology at Boston College, told _USA Today_. [Read more at _USA Today_](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/01/25/boston-bombing-jury-selection-excludes-observant-catholics/22121061/ "undefined"). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3681925/boston-bombing-trial-tsarnaev-roman-catholics-jury-excluded/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3681925/boston-bombing-trial-tsarnaev-roman-catholics-jury-excluded/"},"headline":"Catholics Selected for the Boston Bomber Jury Could Be Going Against Their Faith","datePublished":"2015-01-26T04:09:05.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T03:51:48.629Z","description":"There's a potential clash between jury selection criteria and Catholic teachings","url":"https://time.com/3681925/boston-bombing-trial-tsarnaev-roman-catholics-jury-excluded/","keywords":["Crime","Death Penalty","trial","boston bombing"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd37b6c0e38d763e7/69877bd106f2c1961133397a/461053646.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rishi Iyengar","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd37b6c0e38d763e7/69877bd106f2c1961133397a/461053646.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Jury Selection Begins For Tsarnaev Trial","caption":"Jury Selection Begins For Tsarnaev Trial","creditText":"John Tlumacki—Boston Globe/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3681925/boston-bombing-trial-tsarnaev-roman-catholics-jury-excluded/","name":"Catholics Selected for the Boston Bomber Jury Could Be Going Against Their Faith"}}]}] ```