Boston Marathon bombing suspect requests second death penalty specialist

Posted: Jul 15, 2013 1:06 PM PDT <em class="wnDate">Monday, July 15, 2013 4:06 PM EST</em>Updated: Jul 15, 2013 1:28 PM PDT<em class="wnDate">Monday, July 15, 2013 4:28 PM EST</em>


Boston Marathon bombing suspect requests second death penalty specialistMore>>


  • Complete coverage of the Boston Marathon bombings
    Complete coverage of the Boston Marathon bombings


    (MyFoxBoston.com) – Lawyers for the surviving Boston Marathon bombing suspect filed a motion Monday asking that another death penalty specialist be added to their legal team.

    <<FULL MOTION: Motion for appointment of David Bruck as third counsel

    For a second time, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's legal team has asked to add Lexington, Virginia attorney David Bruck, who according to the Boston Herald helped spare a plane hijacker and a former member of al-Qaeda from execution.

    The defense had previously requested on April 22, 2013 - the same day Tsarnaev was charged with two offenses punishable by death - that Judy Clark of San Diego, Calif. and Bruck be added; however, the court approved Clark, who helped negotiate life sentences for Ted Kaczynski and Eric Rudolph, but denied the request to appoint a second attorney.

    After Tsarnaev was indicted on 30 charges, 17 of which carry the death penalty, the defense renewed their request.

    According to the Herald, Bruck's past clients include Zayd Safarini, serving life for his role in the 1986 hijacking of Pan Am Flight 73 in Karachi, Pakistan; and Mohamed Rashed Daoud al-Owhali, one of four men serving life for the 1998 bombing of the United States embassy in Nairobi.

    Tsarnaev, 19, pleaded not guilty in federal court July 10 in a seven-minute proceeding that marked his first appearance in public since his capture in mid-April.

    Dzhokhar and his brother, Tamerlan, are allegedly the masterminds of the marathon attack. Three people were killed and nearly 300 others injured.

    Dzhokhar is also accused of murdering MIT police officer Sean Collier a few days after the bombings.

    <<FULL MOTION: Motion for appointment of David Bruck as third counsel

    http://www.myfoxboston.com/story/228...#ixzz2Z9PuE221