Victims of the Boston Marathon bombing have expressed their frustration over Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's efforts to reassemble his previous legal team, describing it as a misuse of taxpayers' funds.
Tsarnaev, currently incarcerated in a Colorado Supermax, is scheduled to appear in a Boston court on August 21. His legal representatives will commence their attempts to spare him from capital punishment. The status conference is set to take place before Federal Judge George A. OToole Jr.
According to American Military News, Liz Norden, a victim of the bombing, questioned the financial implications of Tsarnaev's legal proceedings. Whos paying for this? she asked. He blew up innocent people and were told its no ones business to know how much his lawyers cost? It makes no sense. The Department of Justice has refused to disclose Tsarnaevs legal expenses in response to a public records request from the Herald, as his case continues to languish in the courts.
Norden has made it a point to attend every hearing, a silent testament to the victims of the bombing, including her two sons who tragically lost their right legs on that horrific day on Boylston Street on April 15, 2013. Another victim, Marc Fucarile, who woke up in a hospital with his right leg severely damaged and his left one at risk, criticized the seemingly endless case against Tsarnaev as an affront to the city. Stop wasting taxpayers dollars just for greedy lawyers, he said, referring to Tsarnaevs appeal of his death penalty sentence. He was already judged by his peers. There should be no question he deserves the death penalty. Lets just cut off this cash cow, he added.
Tsarnaev has previously questioned the impartiality of two jurors in his 2015 death penalty trial and achieved a partial victory in the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston. The court stated that the district courts investigation fell short of what was constitutionally required regarding this issue. If bias is proven, the court added, Tsarnaev will be entitled to a new penalty-phase proceeding. The alleged bias pertains to social media posts about the bombing made by two jurors.
Despite the outcome, the appeals court has confirmed that Tsarnaev will spend the rest of his life in prison. Tsarnaev is now swiftly moving to gather his legal team, with Boston attorney William Fick filing an appeal to rejoin the case now that he is in private practice. Tsarnaev is legally indigent, Fick writes, and the courts should allow him back on the case in order to serve the interests of justice, judicial economy, continuity in representation.
Fick's motion also indicates that attorneys Daniel Habib, Deirdre von Dornum, and Mia Eisner-Grynberg from the Federal Defenders of New York, are on Tsarnaev's side. It remains unclear whether all the lawyers are offering their services pro bono or submitting a bill. The New York group does provide free assistance to persons charged with federal crimes who cannot afford to hire an attorney.
The case continues in the Seaport federal court under the same judge as the alleged bias of two jurors is re-examined. Tsarnaev still has a chance to avoid the death penalty. The bombing resulted in the deaths of Martin Richard, 8; Krystle Campbell, 29; and Lu Lingzi, 23. More than 260 people were injured and maimed. MIT Police Officer Sean Collier, 27, was shot execution-style days later by Tsarnaev and his brother Tamerlan, who was killed hours later in a firefight in Watertown. Boston Police Officer Dennis Simmonds, 28, injured in the Watertown shootout, died in April 2014. Tsarnaev is currently held in the Federal Correctional Complex Florence in Colorado, a Supermax known as the Alcatraz of the Rockies.
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