Boston marathon bomber seeking to avoid death penalty

After the city of Boston commemorated those lives lost in the Boston Marathon bombing, the case against the alleged surviving bomber has trudged on. In a report from Bloomberg, the lawyers of suspect Dzhokhar Tsaranaev had lost a bid to obtain evidence from the prosecution to show that his older brother had influenced him and had led the bombing attack.

This strategy was employed in order to spare the younger Tsaranaev from the application of the death penalty. While the defense has not denied the participation of Tsaranaev in the planning and execution of the attack, they are now focused on the application of the death penalty in the case. The defense intends to portray the youth of Dzhokhar and instead highlight the extremist views of his older brother that influenced their client's later actions.

The defense also seeks the inclusion of the case of Ibragim Todashev, where the elder Tsaranaev was also a suspect being investigated by the FBI. This, according to the defense, would prove of the elder Tsaranev's cruelty and terroristic nature.

The defense motioned for the evidence to be turned over to them was denied by US District Judge George A. O'Toole, Jr. The judge did not elaborate on the basis of his decision. The elder Tsarnaev was shot and killed in a police shootout after the bomb blasts. The US Department of Justice had maintained that it would seek the application of the death penalty in this case if the suspect, a Russian immigrant who was currently a college student at the time of the attacks, would be convicted.

The trial for the Boston Marathon bombing is scheduled for November. Back in April 15, 2013, two explosive devices had detonated near the finish line of the race resulting in the death of three people as well as injuring 260 others. 

In a statement, David Bruck, lawyer for the defendant, said, "This is about a family and the search for what happened."

Tags

Boston Marathon Bomber, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev trial, FBI Investigation

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