On the day jury selection for the trial of accused Boston Bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev officially begins, it seems fitting to remember The Rolling Stone’s attempt to make the man whose act of terror led to the death of three and injured 260 into a sympathetic heartthrob.

The infamous cover featured the most attractive (Jim Morrison-esque) image the magazine could find of the accused bomber, deliberately emphasized the words "popular" and "promising" on the first line of the subtitle, and depicted him as a passive victim who "was failed by his family" and "fell" into radical Islam.

Upon the cover's release, Rolling Stone was promptly excoriated by thousands online and the issue was banned by several local retailers (via the New Yorker):

On the magazine’s Facebook page, thousands of comments express some version of what appears to be a popular refrain: “Rolling Stone, fuck you!” The cover has been called “shameful,” “disgusting,” “tasteless,” and a “slap in the face to America.” Boston public officials have issued similar appraisals: Mayor Thomas Menino called it “a total disgrace.” CVS, Walgreens, and other local retailers have promised not to sell the issue.​

Rolling Stone came under even more intense fire at the end of 2014 after its story about an alleged gang rape at a University of Virginia fraternity fell to pieces, revealing irresponsible journalistic practices and resulting in an editor allegedly offering to resign and further erosion of the magazine's credibility.