In July 2020 Thompson was part of an appellate court decision that vacated the death sentence and overturned three of the firearm convictions of Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, and referred the matter back to the lower courts. The appellate court cited errors in the sentencing proceedings that found Dzhokhar guilty and condemned him to death; however, the appellate court upheld the life sentence for Dzhokhar.