Three people were killed and more than 260 injured after homemade pressure cooker bombs planted by Tsarnaev and his brother Tamerlan exploded close to the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon.

Tsarnaev was convicted two years later and sentenced to death.

The sentence was overturned by the First US Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston, which ordered a new trial over what sentence he should receive.

US Attorney General William Barr told the Associated Press the department would do "whatever’s necessary" to pursue the death penalty.

Andrew Lelling, the United States Attorney in the District of Massachusetts, has confirmed the Justice Department has asked for the Supreme Court to review the decision to reverse the death penalty.

"After extensive deliberations, including consideration of the views of the many victims in this case, the Justice Department has decided to ask the Supreme Court to review the First Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision to reverse the death penalty, in an effort to preserve the jury’s verdict sentencing Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to death," a statement from Lelling read.

"Our hope is that this will result in reinstatement of the original sentence and avoid a retrial of the death penalty phase.

"First, we respectfully disagree with the merits of the appellate court’s decision.

"Second, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is an ideologically driven mass killer who, with his brother, detonated at the finish line of the Boston Marathon two home-made bombs specifically designed to rip people apart, killing three - a young boy and two women - maiming seventeen, and injuring hundreds; shot a police officer three times in the head so they could steal his sidearm; and exchanged thousands of rounds with police officers in Watertown."

"I have heard, and respect, the voices calling for the Department to drop its pursuit of the death penalty in this case," Lelling continued.

"But the severity of Tsarnaev’s crimes place him in that narrow category of criminals for whom death is a proportional punishment.

"Some have argued that executing Tsarnaev will not deter others from pursuing similar crimes.

"But, ultimately, this decision is not about deterrence.

"It is about justice."

In its ruling, the First US Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston determined the trial judge "fell short" in conducting the jury selection process.

The court said the trial judge had failed to exclude jurors who had already concluded that Tsarnaev was guilty following heightened pre-trial publicity.

Judges said, however, that Tsarnaev, a Kyrgyz-American of Chechen descent, "will spend his remaining days locked up in prison, with the only matter remaining being whether he will die by execution".