On  April 15, 2013 two bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. The bombings killed three spectators and wounded more than 260 others. “It left people feeling frightened because it happened at such a traditional and historic event like the Boston Marathon,” said Freshman Brooke Vandenberg. The gruesome attack was planned by brothers Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev,19.

After the attack, both men were highly wanted criminals. During the search for both men, Tamerlan Tsarnaev was shot and killed by police. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was captured hiding in a boat in late April. The trial for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is set to begin on Jan. 26.

This week, judge George O’Toole and the attorneys involved in the trial will take the majority of the week to review the questionnaires of at least 1,200 potential jurors before moving on the next stage of the trial. The court will continue to go through this phase until it can be narrowed down to a jury of 12 people to sit in on the case.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is facing 30 charges for his crime. With vast opinions on the death penalty, most experts predict that it is unlikely that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev will be sentenced to death. Despite the horrendous nature of the act, the state of Massachusetts, along with most of the Northeast, is historically against the death penalty. Additionally, Tsarnaev has assembled a defense team know for debating the death penalty in prominent cases. Sophomore Maddie Patrick feels the death penalty, “ is okay as long as we only use it in severe crimes.”

The outcome of this trial is yet to be determined. But given the impact of the Boston bombing and the recent terrorist events in France, these type of attacks will be important events that will determine how well western democracies deal with increased threats from radical terrorist groups.