Fagan is the first juror to speak publicly using his name, and to be photographed, according to the station.
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The judge who handled the death penalty trial of Boston Marathon Bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is refusing to identify jurors from the trial.
O’Toole added that repeated attempts by the press to interview jurors may interfere with determining the fairness of his trial.
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The juror, 23-year-old, said he did not know that the parents of 8-year-old had urged prosecutors in an open letter on the front page of in April to seek life in prison for the ethnic Chechen rather than the death penalty.
The judge’s ruling says that since there are pending appeals that could focus on the juror’s actions, those names will not be released. “But then again, if I knew that I wouldn’t be on the jury either”, Fagan told WBUR in an interview released on Tuesday.
The defense lawyers have now asked for access to the social media accounts of the 12 jurors and six alternates in order to glean how much publicity about the case had passed through their social media accounts or was discussed by family members and friends.
Fagan is co-authoring an online book about his experience.
Tsarnaev’s lawyers argued in a motion filed last week he deserves a new trial in a different location where jurors will be impartial. Neither the defense nor the prosecution have opposed the release of the jurors’ names, according to WBUR.
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“He still chose to leave that bomb there for about 4½ minutes”, Fagan said. The trial is “something I’ll never forget”, Fagan said.
