Tag: terrorism

Appealcast – First Circuit Decision Extravaganza, Pt. 2

Heather3 Comments

Heather and Tom Frizzell further discuss the July 31, 2020 First Circuit Court decision to overturn Dzhokhar "Jahar" Tsarnaev's death sentence. In this episode, we talk about the remainder of the appellate rulings and the significance of the "smaller" issues, including the far-reaching consequences of anti-Muslim bias, new case details revealed by the decision, and the vacation of three of Jahar's convictions in the guilt phase. We also discuss the political reaction to the decision, next steps for the appeal, and what you can do to help.

Appealcast – First Circuit Decision Extravaganza, Pt. 1

Heather9 Comments

Heather and Tom Frizzell discuss the July 31, 2020 First Circuit Court decision to overturn Dzhokhar "Jahar" Tsarnaev's death sentence. We talk about the issues the defense won on, as well as the four biggest takeaways from the decision.

Orientalism, Islamophobia, and the Tsarnaev Case, Part 3: The Micro, Continued

HeatherLeave a comment

In this final podcast installment, Heather wraps up her discussion of the "micro": how the mainstream media coverage of Jahar's case fanned the flames of misinformation, which aided prosecutors in their bid to sentence him to death in 2015.

Orientalism, Islamophobia, and the Tsarnaev Case; or, What I Learned in Grad School, Part 2: The Micro

HeatherLeave a comment

Heather dives into her process for writing her thesis, the hospital confession notes, prejudiced FBI protocols, the dubious nature of the High Value Detainee Interrogation Group, how the politics of policing Jahar relates to Guantanamo, and just how far the devastating effects of Orientalism reach.

Orientalism, Islamophobia, and the Tsarnaev Case; or, What I Learned in Grad School, Part 1: The Macro

HeatherLeave a comment

In this three-part podcast miniseries, Heather is joined by Tom "Attorney Dad" Frizzell in a bit of a role reversal. Tom plays host and invites Heather to share what she learned in her Master's program in International Studies at the University of Washington. She discusses how writing her academic thesis on Dzhokhar "Jahar" Tsarnaev's case helped her better understand not just the Boston Marathon bombing, but the War on Terror, American foreign policy, and systemic discrimination against Muslims.

Regimes of Truth: Why Everything “Known” About the Boston Marathon Bombing is Wrong

Heather5 Comments

An exhaustive new report, submitted by Heather Frizzell for her master's thesis at the University of Washington, explores the ways in which law enforcement, the mainstream media, and federal prosecutors manufactured prejudicial myths against Muslims in general and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in particular.

Appealcast #2 – Confession is Good for the Soul

HeatherLeave a comment

Heather is joined by Tom "Attorney Dad" Frizzell and resident historian Eric Bowsfield to discuss their initial impressions on Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's opening appellate brief. Then they take a deep dive into Dzhokhar's suppressed hospital confession, the contents of which were kept from the public until October 2018, when they were unsealed by Dzhokhar's appellate team. They look at what's there, what isn't, and the likelihood that the entire narrative of this case was created by overzealous FBI agents illegally interrogating a critically injured teenager. 

The Unusual Suspects, Part 2: Viskhan Vakhabov, the Phone Man

Heather11 Comments

A phone call to Tamerlan Tsarnaev's friend two hours before the murder of Sean Collier changed everything I knew about the Boston Marathon bombing. So why did the government protect him?