How long should Dzhokhar Tsarnaev get behind bars?

[Barrister]

Perhaps you should just follow the Canadian answer - guilt is up to the jury, sentence is up to the judge. 

[DGuller]

Would you be in favor of including jurors who believer no crime merits punishment?

That doesn't present anywhere near the same problem.  There is a very substantial percentage of people who are anti-DP on same kind of principle, and thus systematically excluding those people from capital juries is likely to create a material bias.

What's the alternative?  Once the share of population coming into the jury room with preconceived notions is above a certain threshold, you essentially grant that share of population the veto power over the law?

[The Minsky Moment]

What's the alternative?  Once the share of population coming into the jury room with preconceived notions is above a certain threshold, you essentially grant that share of population the veto power over the law?

The logic of the jury system is the result reflects the mores and values of the general community.  If you think that is a problem, be honest and advocate scrapping juries in particular cases.  But what is not acceptable is to say a huge swath of people with certain values is excluded categorically from some of the most important cases, and while still claiming to be true to the notion of a jury pool that is unbiased and reflects generally prevailing community values.

[Admiral Yi]

Is the job of a juror in the sentencing portion to do whatever he or she feels like?  I would have thought there was supposed to be reference to laws or guidelines or whatever.

[The Minsky Moment]

Is the job of a juror in the sentencing portion to do whatever he or she feels like?  I would have thought there was supposed to be reference to laws or guidelines or whatever.

Yes.
And the reason for screening people for anti-DP views is that you exclude people who admit that they may not be able to follow the law with respect to imposition of the DP.
There is a logic to that - but if one assumes that in a state like MA there are quite a lot of people who if they answered honestly would be in the category it gives rise to a different problem - you end up fatally biasing the jury pool and making it highly unrepresentative.  You've fixed one form of bias by introducing another.

[grumbler]

Is the job of a juror in the sentencing portion to do whatever he or she feels like?  I would have thought there was supposed to be reference to laws or guidelines or whatever.

Yes.
And the reason for screening people for anti-DP views is that you exclude people who admit that they may not be able to follow the law with respect to imposition of the DP.
There is a logic to that - but if one assumes that in a state like MA there are quite a lot of people who if they answered honestly would be in the category it gives rise to a different problem - you end up fatally biasing the jury pool and making it highly unrepresentative.  You've fixed one form of bias by introducing another.

The bias is introduced by requiring unanimity in the verdict and sentence.  I don't think any group that was actually representative could achieve unanimity.