The United States will prosecute Tsarnaev to the fullest extent
Attorney General Eric Holder will seek the death penalty for the Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
The decision was announced today with Holder stating, “After consideration of relevant facts, the applicable regulations and the submissions made by the defendant’s counsel, I have determined that the United States will seek the death penalty in this matter.”
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, along with his brother Tamerlan, was responsible for detonating a bomb near the end of the Boston Marathon last April. The explosion killed three people and wounded 260 more.
Tsarnaev was captured during a shootout after he fled the scene. His brother was shot and killed while hiding.
Prosecutors have levied 30 different charges against Tsarnaev, 17 of which can be charged with the death penalty.
The Boston bomber pleaded not guilty to one of the worst terrorist attacks on American soil in nearly a decade.
U.S. attorney Carmen Ortiz says, “The case will now continue to proceed through the pretrial process and the next scheduled court event is a status conference set for February 12, 2014.”
Attorney General Holder went on to say that “The nature of the conduct at issue and the resultant harm compel this decision.”
It seems likely that Tsarnaev will in fact receive the death penalty in this case.
