Penalty debated in Tsarnaev case

BOSTON - Federal authorities plan to recommend whether to seek the death penalty against Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev by the end of next month and expect U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to decide early next year whether to pursue it, prosecutors said Monday.

But Tsarnaev’s lawyers objected to the timetable and asked a judge for more time to make their case against the death penalty.

During a status conference in U.S. District Court, Tsarnaev’s lawyers said they have not received key evidence from prosecutors yet and have not had enough time to submit a proposal arguing that Tsarnaevdoes not deserve the death penalty.

Assistant U.S. Attorney William Weinreb argued that the defense has had almost six months since the bombing. He said federal prosecutors plan to make a recommendation to Holder by Oct. 31. Holder will have the ultimate say on whether to seek the death penalty; his decision is expected by Jan. 31, Weinreb said.

Twin bombings at the April 15 marathon killed three people and injured more than 260. Tsarnaev, 20, and his older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, built two pressure cooker bombs and placed them near the finish line of the marathon, prosecutors allege. Tamerlan Tsarnaev died after a shootout with police days later.

Front Section, Pages 2 on 09/24/2013

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