Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was formally sentenced to death in Boston.
The Boston Marathon bomber has apologized to his victims in a federal court hearing: “I am sorry for the lives I have taken, for the suffering that I have caused you.”
On June 24, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 21, remained impassive as victims lined up in court to condemn his “cowardly” actions.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and his brother Tamerlan killed three and injured 264 when they bombed the finish line of the marathon in 2013.
A police officer was killed during the hunt for the Tsarnaev brothers.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev died and Dzhokhar was sentenced to death last month but he was formally sentenced by the judge on June 24.
In his first statements since the start of the trial, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev said he listened to all the victims’ testimony and noted survivors’ strength, patience and dignity.
He thanked Allah and his lawyers.
Speaking outside the court following the sentencing, victim Lynne Julian said Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s apology was hollow and insincere and that her sense of security is forever changed.
“I regret ever wanting to hear him speak,” she said.
“He showed no remorse.”
Before Dzhokhar Tsarnaev spoke in court, several of the injured and bereaved used what was the first opportunity for them to make public their feelings.
Ed Fucarile, the father of Marc, who lost his right leg, said: “The first time I saw you in this courtroom, you were smirking at all the victims for your unspeakable cowardly act. You don’t seem to be smirking today.”
Bill Richard, father of 8-year-old Martin Richard, the youngest victim, said Dzhokhar Tsarnaev could have stopped his brother on the morning of the attack.
“He chose hate. He chose destruction. He chose death. This is all on him.”
Seventeen people who lost legs in the attack were present in court. Many said they feared they were going to die.
It could be years until Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s legal process is finished. Death penalty sentences in the US often take years to carry out, and there will be an appeal.
osAzamat Tazhayakov, has been sentenced to three and a half years in jail for obstructing police after Boston Marathon bombings.
Azamat Tazhayakov, a Kazakh exchange student, tearfully apologized on June 5 for removing a backpack containing fireworks from Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s room.
He denounced the Boston bomber’s actions, which killed three and injured 264 at the finishing line of the marathon in 2013.
In 2014, Azamat Tazhayakov was convicted of obstruction of justices.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s three friends went into his dormitory to collect the evidence, a backpack and a laptop.
One of them, Dias Kadyrbayev, took the lead in removing the items, texting with Dzhokhar Tsarnaev as he did so, while the two other friends, including Azamat Tazhayakov and American Robel Phillipos, stood by and assisted, according to reports from the Boston Globe.
Dias Kadyrbayev pleaded guilty in 2014 to removing the backpack from Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s room and was sentenced on June 2 to six years in prison.
Judge Douglas Woodlock said: “There is no question that this was a very serious offence, the failure to act properly when confronted with the devastating event.”
Azamat Tazhayakov said the decision to bomb the Boston marathon “made him sick”. His father wept as he apologized.
Robel Phillipos was sentenced to three years in prison on June 5 for lying to investigators.
The three friends all attended the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth with Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
Judge Douglas Woodlock said he thought Dias Kadrybayev was “most culpable” of the three friends.
The authorities are not claiming that Robel Phillipos, Azamat Tazhayakov and Dias Kadyrbayev were aware of the Boston Marathon bombing before it happened.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s friend, Dias Kadyrbayev, has been sentenced to six years in jail for obstructing the investigation into Boston Marathon bombing attacks.
Dias Kadyrbayev, who pleaded guilty in 2014, apologized before being sentenced, and said he was ashamed.
He had removed Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s backpack, containing emptied fireworks, from their student accommodation, hours after police appealed for information.
Three people were killed and 260 injured in the bombings.
Dias Kadyrbayev, who is a Kazakhstan native, had been seeking a lighter sentence as part of his plea.
Prosecutors had said they would ask for no more than seven years in a federal prison for Dias Kadyrbayev, who was 20 when he pleaded guilty.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s backpack and his laptop were removed from a dormitory room at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, hours after the FBI released photographs of the bombing suspects.
Later, the items were found in a Massachusetts landfill.
Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been sentenced to death by lethal injection.
Three people were killed and 260 were injured when Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and his brother Tamerlan placed bombs at the finishing line of the Boston Marathon in 2013.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, now 21, is likely to be moved to a federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, to await execution, but there could be years of appeals.
Victims sobbed as the sentence was read, but Dzhkhar Tsarnaev showed no emotion.
“Now he will go away and we will be able to move on. Justice. In his own words, <<an eye for an eye>>,” said bombing victim Sydney Corcoran, who nearly bled to death and whose mother lost both legs.
After 14 hours of deliberations, the jury concluded that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev showed no remorse and therefore should be put to death.
“The jury has spoken. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev will pay for his crimes with his life,” said US Attorney Carmen Ortiz.
Massachusetts as a state ended the death penalty in 1984, but Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was tried on federal charges, meaning he was eligible for execution.
After the sentence was announced, US Attorney General Loretta Lynch said: “The ultimate penalty is a fitting punishment for this horrific crime and we hope that the completion of this prosecution will bring some measure of closure to the victims and their families.”
However, not all of the victims supported the death penalty for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
The parents of Martin Richard, an 8-year-old boy killed in the blast, wrote an article in the Boston Globe newspaper last month asking the government to not seek a death sentence as it would delay their emotional closure.
Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has expressed remorse over the bombings, a defense witness testified as his lawyers finished their case to spare his life.
Forty witnesses testified for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, including anti-death penalty advocate Sister Helen Prejean.
Helen Prejean testified on May 11 that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev told her of the bombing victims: “No one deserves to suffer like they did.”
The April 2013 bombings killed three people and injured more than 260.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 21, has expressed genuine regret and sorrow over the bombings, the Roman Catholic said.
Prosecutors pushed to exclude her testimony, but a judge decided to allow it.
Helen Prejean began prison ministry in 1981 in New Orleans and corresponded with Patrick Sonnier, a death row inmate who had been convicted of killing two teenagers.
She wrote a best-selling book on her experiences called Dead Man Walking, which was later turned into a movie.
Prosecutors will now call rebuttal witnesses. Both sides will deliver closing arguments before the jury decides Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s fate.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s lawyers have admitted he played a role in the attacks but said that his older brother, Tamerlan, was the driving force.
The defense emphasized on young age of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev who was 19 at the time of the attacks.
Lawyers also highlighted Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s rough family life. The Tsarnaevs – ethnic Chechens – had lived in the former Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan and the volatile Dagestan region of Russia, near Chechnya, before moving to the US in 2002.
Teachers called Dzhokhar Tsarnaev “sweet” and “hardworking” while other witnesses said his mother was obsessed with religion and his father had post-traumatic stress disorder, contributing to his actions.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who is accused of bombing Boston Marathon in April 2013, has been found guilty of all 30 charges that he faced, many of which carry the death penalty.
The jury in Massachusetts will now decide what sentence Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 21, will receive.
Three people were killed and more than 260 injured when the bombs exploded at the finish line in April 2013.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s lawyers admitted he played a role in the attacks but said his older brother was the driving force.
The guilty conviction was widely expected. In the next phase of the trial, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s legal team will push for him to be given a life-in-prison sentence instead of death.
His chief lawyer, Judy Clarke, specializes in defending high-profile clients facing the death penalty, including the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski.
Although Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s defense team had repeatedly appealed for a change of venue, Boston is not known for its support of capital punishment.
Massachusetts abolished the practice in 1984 and has not executed anyone since 1947. But Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was convicted of federal, not state crimes.
A police officer was killed in the days following the attack as Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and his brother Tamerlan, who also died, attempted to flee.
As the guilty verdicts were read on April 8, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev kept his hands folded in front of him and looked down.
Nearby, the mother of one victim, 8-year-old Martin Richard, wiped tears from her face after the verdict was read. Martin Richard’s father embraced one of the prosecutors.
The governor of Massachusetts welcomed the verdict, and Boston Mayor Martin Walsh said: “I hope today’s verdict provides a small amount of closure.”
The family of Officer Sean Collier, who was killed days after the attack, said: “While today’s verdict can never bring Sean back, we are thankful that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev will be held accountable for the evil that he brought to so many families.”
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s defense team say he took part in the bombing, but argue that his elder brother, Tamerlan, was the mastermind of the attack who influenced Dzhokhar into participating.
Prosecutors portrayed the brothers as equal partners in a plan to “punish America” for wars in Muslim countries.
Among the most damning evidence was a video that showed Dzhokhar Tsarnaev placing a backpack bomb near to Martin Richard, and a statement scrawled inside the boat where he was found hiding days after the attack.
“Stop killing our innocent people and we will stop,” Dzhokhar Tsarnaev wrote, as he lay wounded and bleeding inside the dry-docked boat in suburban garden.
The jury was also shown a surveillance video of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev casually purchasing milk at a nearby supermarket less than 30 minutes after the bombs wreaked carnage at the finish line.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is an ethnic Chechen. His family moved to the US about a decade before the bombings.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev “wanted to punish America” when he and his brother Tamerlan planted bombs at the Boston Marathon, the prosecutor has told the jury at his trial.
The comments came as closing arguments commenced at the trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who allegedly perpetrated the bombings.
Judge George O’Toole outlined the law to the 18-person jury ahead of last-ditch arguments from the lawyers.
If found guilty, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who is charged with 30 counts, will face life imprisonment or execution.
His lawyers admit he carried out the attacks but say he was under the influence of his radicalized brother.
Prosecutors are expected to remind the jury of the attack’s brutality.
Judge George O’Toole explained to the jury how the 30 separate counts were related to the different elements involved – the bombings during the race, the murder of a police officer, a car jacking and a shoot-out with police.
Three people, including an 8-year-old boy, died after two pressure cooker bombs packed with nails, ball bearings and other shrapnel detonated in April 2013.
More than 260 people were injured, with many losing limbs.
Earlier in the trial, the defense made the surprise admission that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, now 21, had participated in the attacks.
Defense lawyers argue that Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who died during a massive manhunt, had orchestrated the attacks and by doing so they hope to spare their client the death penalty.
If convicted, a second phase will determine the punishment, and the jury will have to decide whether Dzhokhar Tsarnaev will be put to death.
Boston Marathon attacks were the deadliest terror attack on US soil since 9/11.
The trial of Boston Marathon suspect Dzokhar Tsarnaev has began in the city where three people died and more than 260 were injured in the terror attack two years ago.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 21, denies more than 30 counts of using a weapon of mass destruction.
Three people, including an 8-year-old boy, were killed after two pressure cooker bombs packed with nails, ball bearings and other shrapnel detonated.
It was the deadliest terror attack on US soil since 9/11.
More than 260 people were injured, with many losing limbs.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is also accused of killing a police officer in the days after the bombing.
A huge police man hunt followed the attacks, culminating in Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s arrest and the death of his 26-year-old brother Tamerlan, who was also suspected of the bombings.
It took the court more than two months to select a jury.
Over 1,300 potential jurors were considered, with many rejected on the grounds they had already made their minds up about Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s guilt, or were not willing to vote for execution if he is found guilty – something prosecutors are pushing for.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s defense team repeatedly tried to have the hearing moved out of Boston, saying a fair trial would be impossible in the city.
They are expected to argue that his elder brother was the driving force behind the attack.
The prosecution will argue that the brothers – both ethnic Chechens – set off the bombs as an act of retaliation against the US for its military action in Muslim countries.
They plan to show jurors panels of the boat which Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was found by police in, where he had allegedly scrawled anti-US messages.
Jury selection has begun in the Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev trial.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is accused of killing three people and injuring more than 260 in April 2013.
He faces the possibility of the death penalty if he is convicted of detonating a pair of homemade bombs.
The attack near the marathon’s finish line was the largest on American soil since 9/11.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has pleaded not guilty to all 30 charges against him.
His trial is expected to last at least three months.
Jury selection alone is expected to take several weeks as Judge George O’Toole selects 12 jurors and six alternates from about 1,200 prospective jurors who have been summoned to the court in Boston.
The process could be made more complicated if potential jurors express objections to the death penalty.
Testimony is unlikely to begin until February, the Boston Globe reported, and a verdict may not be announced until late spring or early summer.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s lawyers say they have not had sufficient time to prepare for the trial.
They also argue that appointing impartial jurors in the same city where the bombs were detonated is impossible.
Correspondents say the prosecution will be one of the most important for the government since Timothy McVeigh was sentenced to death in 1997 for detonating a truck bomb in Oklahoma City two years earlier.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and his brother Tamerlan lived in the Massachusetts town of Cambridge, home to Harvard University, after emigrating to the US in 2002 from the Caucasus region of southern Russia.
The prosecution will argue that the brothers set off the bombs as an act of retaliation against the US for its military action in Muslim countries.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed during a shootout with police days after the bombing.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was wounded and eventually found by police hiding inside a boat in a residential neighborhood.
He will be defended by a team of five lawyers, including Judy Clarke, an expert in capital punishment cases.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who is due in court on January 5, has made two other brief court appearances since his arrest.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has appeared in court for the first time over the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings.
The final pre-trial hearing in the case was held in Boston ahead of jury selection for a federal trial, which is due to begin on January 5.
Suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 20, faces the possibility of the death penalty if he is convicted of the April 2013 bombings.
Three people were killed and more than 260 injured when two bombs detonated near the marathon’s finish line.
The Associated Press news agency reports that the courtroom for Thursday’s hearing was packed with FBI agents, police who worked on the case, and survivors and family members.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who was led into the courtroom by US marshals, was wearing a black sweater and grey trousers and sporting a beard, the agency adds.
Prosecutors allege that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and his older brother, Tamerlan, built and planted the two pressure-cooker bombs.
Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev lived in the Massachusetts town of Cambridge, home of the prestigious Harvard University, after emigrating to the US in 2002 from the Caucasus region of southern Russia.
Officials believe the brothers set off the bombs as an act of retaliation against the US for its military action in Muslim countries.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed during a shootout with police days after the bombing.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was wounded and was eventually found by police hiding inside a boat in a residential neighborhood.
Ailina Tsarnaeva, the sister of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, was arrested Wednesday, August 27, on suspicion of threatening to bomb a woman who previously had a romantic relationship with her boyfriend.
Ailina Tsarnaeva, who lives in North Bergen, New Jersey, made the threat against an upper Manhattan woman via telephone on Monday, police said. She turned herself in at a Manhattan police precinct, and police charged her with aggravated harassment.
Several media outlets reported Ailina Tsarnaeva told the Harlem woman she had “people who can go over there and put a bomb on you”.
Officers gave Ailina Tsarnaeva an appearance ticket and released her pending a September 30 court date.
Ailina Tsarnaeva was arrested on suspicion of threatening to bomb a woman who previously had a romantic relationship with her boyfriend (photo Boston Herald)
A telephone number linked to Ailina Tsarnaeva was disconnected. Her lawyer, George Gormley, said he had left his office and would speak Thursday.
Ailina Tsarnaeva has been required to check in with Massachusetts probation officers since prosecutors said she failed to cooperate with a 2010 counterfeiting investigation.
Prosecutors said Ailina Tsarnaeva picked up someone who passed a counterfeit bill at a restaurant at a Boston mall and “lied about certain salient facts during the investigation.”
At a hearing last October, George Gormley said Ailina Tsarnaeva was pregnant with her second child and was unlikely to flee.
Ailina Tsarnaeva once lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts, at an apartment linked to her brothers, Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who were the subjects of an intense manhunt in the Boston area in the days after the deadly April 2013 marathon bombing.
Records show Ailina Tsarnaeva now lives with a sister, Bella Tsarnaeva.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 20, is charged with building and planting the two pressure cooker bombs that exploded near the marathon’s finish line, killing three people and injuring more than 260 others. He has pleaded not guilty.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, died after a gunbattle with police.
Azamat Tazhayakov, a college friend of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, was convicted Monday of impeding the investigation into Boston Marathon bombing.
Azamat Tazhayakov was charged with obstruction of justice and conspiracy, with prosecutors saying he agreed with a friend’s plan to remove Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s backpack containing altered fireworks from his dorm room a few days after the 2013 bombing.
His trial was the first stemming from the bombing, which killed three and injured more than 260 near the marathon’s finish line. Azamat Tazhayakov’s mother sobbed loudly and rocked in her seat as the jury announced the guilty verdicts, which it reached on the third day of deliberations.
Azamat Tazhayakov’s lawyers argued that it was the other friend, Dias Kadyrbayev, who removed the items from the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth dorm room and then threw them away.
Prosecutors told the jury that both men shared in the decision to remove the items and get rid of them to protect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
Diaz Kadyrbayev faces a separate trial in September. A third friend, Robel Phillipos, is charged with lying to investigators.
Azamat Tazhayakov was convicted of impeding the investigation into Boston Marathon bombing
During Azamat Tazhayakov’s trial, FBI agents testified that he told them he and Dias Kadyrbayev decided to take the backpack, fireworks and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s laptop computer hours after Kadyrbayev received a text message from Tsarnaev that said he could go to his dorm room and “take what’s there”. The items were removed hours after the FBI released photos and video of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and his brother, Tamerlan, and identified them as suspects in the bombing.
Azamat Tazhayakov’s lawyer, Matthew Myers, said his client was a naive college kid who was prosecuted because he was a “friend of the bomber”.
Matthew Myers said Azamat Tazhayakov and another friend, Robel Phillipos, sat passively watching a movie in Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s dorm room as Dias Kadyrbayev took the backpack.
Prosecutors acknowledged that Dias Kadyrbayev is the one who actually threw away the items taken from Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s room, but they said Azamat Tazhayakov agreed with the plan.
The backpack and fireworks were later recovered in a New Bedford landfill. Prosecutors said the fireworks had been emptied of their explosive powder – an ingredient that can be used to make bombs.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed in a shootout with police. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev escaped, but was found later that day, wounded and hiding in a boat parked in a backyard in nearby Watertown.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has pleaded not guilty in the bombing and is scheduled to stand trial in November. He faces the possibility of the death penalty if convicted.
Azamat Tazhayakov is scheduled to be sentenced on October 16. He faces a five-year maximum for conspiracy and 20-year maximum for obstruction but likely will get a lot less under sentencing guidelines.
According to court documents, Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev wrote a note declaring “we Muslims are one body” as he emerged from the boat where he had hidden from investigators.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 20, wrote about his dead brother, Tamerlan: “I do not mourn because his soul is very much alive. God has a plan for each person. Mine was to hide in this boat and shed some light on our actions.”
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev wrote a note as he emerged from the boat where he had hidden from investigators
Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, died on his way to the hospital after the bombings in April 2013. Dzhokar Tsarnaev is charged with using a weapon of mass destruction resulting in the deaths of a boy and three other people.
In his note, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev added: “…we Muslims are one body, you hurt one you hurt us all… know you are fighting men who look into the barrel of your gun and see heaven, now how can you compete with that.”
The court documents cited by WHDH were filed Wednesday by prosecutors opposing a motion from Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s lawyers to suppress statements he made at the time of his arrest, claiming he had made them under duress.
During those interviews, court documents allege, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev “readily admitted involvement” in the bombings and remained “responsive, coherent, and clearheaded” throughout the questioning.
Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev joked with a friend not to text him hours after the FBI released Tsarnaev’s photo as a suspect in the deadly attack, text messages showed.
Dias Kadyrbayev texted Dzhokhar Tsarnaev shortly after the FBI publicly released photos of Tsarnaev and his brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, as suspects in the deadly 2013 attack.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev responded that he had seen the news, then texted: “Better not text me my friend.” Then: “Lol.”
In another text, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev told Dias Kadyrbayev he could go to his room and “take what’s there” followed by a smiley face.
Some of the messages had been released previously, but a complete transcript of Dias Kadyrbayev’s text messages in the days after the bombing was released by prosecutors Thursday.
Dias Kadyrbayev texted Dzhokhar Tsarnaev shortly after the FBI publicly released photos of Tsarnaev brothers (photo VKontakte)
Dias Kadyrbayev and another friend, Azamat Tazhayakov, are accused of removing a backpack containing fireworks and a laptop from Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s dorm room at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth several days after the bombings. A third friend, Robel Phillipos, is accused of lying to investigators.
None of the three men are accused of participating in the bombing or knowing about it ahead of time.
Azamat Tazhayakov and Robel Phillipos declined to testify this week during a hearing over statements they made under questioning by federal agents.
US District Court Judge Douglas Woodlock said Thursday he would not throw out their statements.
Dias Kadyrbayev had been expected to testify Friday, but Judge Douglas Woodlock said that will be postponed until after testimony from an expert witness.
The judge did not rule on Dias Kadyrbayev’s request to suppress statements he made to investigators; his suppression hearing is expected to resume in two weeks.
Prosecutors and the men’s attorneys are arguing over whether the statements were voluntary and can be used as evidence in the upcoming trials. Prosecutors have said the men willingly spoke to federal agents after being told of their right to remain silent and to contact a lawyer. Dias Kadyrbayev’s lawyer, Robert Stahl, has argued that his client, who is from Kazakhstan, did not have a complete command of the English language and did not fully understand the waiver forms he signed.
Three people were killed and more than 260 others injured in two bomb attacks at Boston Marathon in April 2013.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has pleaded not guilty to 30 federal charges and is awaiting trial in November. His brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, also a suspect in the bombings, died following a shootout with police several days later.
Boston honored three killed and more than 260 injured in the last year’s bomb attack as thousands of marathoners took to the city’s streets for this year’s race.
Dignitaries, spectators and more than 36,000 runners observed a moment of silence before the race began.
The heavy security operation included a ban on rucksacks and screening at checkpoints.
US runner Meb Keflezighi and Rita Jeptoo from Kenya won the men’s and women’s races.
Athletes with disabilities were the first competitors to set off, at 08:50 local time.
The elite women’s race started at 09:32, with the elite men setting off half an hour later, followed by thousands of other runners.
Boston honored three killed and more than 260 injured in the last year’s bomb attack as thousands of marathoners took to the city’s streets
Meb Keflezighi won the men’s race, clocking in at 2 hours, 8 minutes and 37 seconds.
He is the first US runner to take the title since 1985.
Rita Jeptoo was the first to cross the finish line in the women’s race, marking her third win in the competition.
She finished the course in a record 2 hours, 18 minutes and 57 seconds.
The 26.2-mile (42.2 km) route was tightly guarded in a massive mobilization of law enforcement agencies, including police units, bomb squads and tactical assault teams from other states.
The Boston police department erected 8,000 steel barricades, 1,200 more than last year.
Many people in the city have been wearing “Boston Strong” T-shirts.
Last year’s winner of the men’s elite race, Ethiopian Lelisa Desisa, was competing again and met several victims of the blast.
Bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 20, is due to stand trial in November. He has pleaded not guilty to 30 charges, including 17 that carry the death penalty.
Thousands of participants are preparing to take part at this year’s Boston Marathon amid tight security following last year’s bombings.
In last year’s race two bombs exploded near the finish line, killing three people and wounding more than 260.
But the attack has not deterred runners from Monday’s event. More than 36,000 will start – 9,000 more than normal.
Half a million spectators are expected to turn out. They will pass through checkpoints and will not be allowed to bring rucksacks – only clear bags.
Never before has the marathon been run amid so many layers of security.
Thousands of participants are preparing to take part at this year’s Boston Marathon amid tight security following last year’s bombings
Protecting the 26.2 mile route has involved a massive mobilization of law enforcement agencies, including police units, bomb squads and Swat teams from other states.
The Boston police department has erected 8,000 steel barricades, 1,200 more than last year.
Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick told CBS television on Sunday that the added security measures would assure a “very safe” atmosphere.
Runners and their families posed at the finish line on Sunday, determined to take part in the event.
Many people in the city have been wearing “Boston Strong” T-shirts.
Last year’s winner, Lelisa Desisa, returns to compete again. He has met several victims of the blast, calling them “an inspiration”.
The event will begin with a moment’s silence at the start line at 08:45.
Bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 20, is due to stand trial in November. He has pleaded not guilty to 30 charges, including 17 that carry the death penalty.
Prosecutors allege that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev set off two pressure cooker bombs with his older brother Tamerlan, 26, who later died in a police shoot-out.
Boston is holding a tribute event on the anniversary of the deadly bombing at last year’s marathon.
Vice-President Joe Biden told survivors they were an example of “pure courage”.
Boston’s leaders thanked those who saved lives in the frenzied aftermath.
Three people were killed and some 264 injured when two bombs exploded near the finish line at last year’s Boston Marathon.
“I know that no memorial, no words, no acts can fully provide the solace that your hearts and soul still yearn to acquire,” Joe Biden said at a midday memorial program.
“I hope it eases your grief a little bit.”
Participants in Tuesday’s ceremonies included representatives from families of the victims, members of the city’s fire, police and ambulance services, government agencies and civic organizations.
Boston is holding a tribute event on the anniversary of the deadly bombing at last year’s marathon (photo LA Times)
Dignitaries in attendance included Joe Biden, former Mayor Thomas Menino, current Mayor Martin Walsh, Governor Deval Patrick, Senator Elizabeth Warren, and others.
This year’s Boston Marathon is due to take place on April 21.
Tuesday’s memorial events began with a wreath-laying ceremony at the site of the explosions, attended by the families of the three bombing victims – Martin Richard, Krystle Campbell and Lu Lingzi.
Relatives of university police officer Sean Collier, who was killed during a manhunt for the suspects, also attended the solemn ceremony.
An invitation-only audience of about 2,500 people gathered at the city’s convention centre at midday to remember victims and honor those who responded to the attack.
“This day will always be hard, but this place will always be strong,” Thomas Menino said.
“Even though the memory still brings tears to our eyes and our heart aches for those we have lost, it’s a comfort to be here with family and friends who got us through that tragic day.”
Several survivors spoke at the event, including Patrick Downes and dancer Adrianne Haslet-Davis, both of whom lost their lower left legs in the bombings.
“We should have never met this way, but we are so grateful for each other,” Patrick Downes said, describing the sense of community that has developed among those who were injured.
The program finished with remarks from Joe Biden, who said last year, “the whole world witnessed ordinary people doing extraordinary things”.
The vice-president ended the tribute to loud applause: “We are Boston. We are America. We respond. We endure. We overcome, and we own the finish line.”
As the race approaches, officials have warned residents and visitors to expect a larger than normal police presence in the city streets.
However, Boston Mayor Martin Walsh said it would be “the Boston Marathon as it has always been”.
“Our goal is for everyone to enjoy the race,” he said.
City health officials say they have also made preparations to help those affected by the bombings cope with the anniversary.
Bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 20, is due to stand trial in November. He has pleaded not guilty to 30 charges, of which 17 carry the possibility of capital punishment.
Prosecutors allege that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev set off two pressure cooker bombs with his older brother Tamerlan, 26, who later died in a police shoot-out.
Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev trial date has been set for November 3.
The federal judge rejected defense lawyer pleas for more time.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 20, could face the death penalty if convicted. Prosecutors have said they expect the trial to last 12 weeks. If he’s found guilty, the sentencing phase could take another six weeks.
The accused has pleaded not guilty to 30 charges, of which 17 carry the possibility of capital punishment.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev trial date has been set for November 3
Authorities say Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and his older brother Tamerlan – who was killed in a firefight with police – built and planted two pressure cooker bombs that killed three people and injured at least 260 others at the iconic race last April.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is also charged with killing an MIT campus police officer before he was found hiding in a dry-docked boat during a massive manhunt that put the city on lockdown.
The federal execution system has been put on hold by a court battle over the combination of drugs used to administer a lethal injection. One of the drugs is no longer available, forcing the Bureau of Prisons to consider alternatives.
In the event of a conviction and a recommendation of a death sentence, the execution by lethal injection would be carried out at a federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana.
Boston Marathon bombings suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is facing the death penalty in the US.
Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement: “The nature of the conduct at issue and the resultant harm compel this decision.”
Seventeen of 30 charges against Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 20, carry the possibility of capital punishment, including using a weapon of mass destruction to kill.
The bombings killed three and injured more than 260 in April 2013.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has pleaded not guilty and no trial date has been set.
Prosecutors allege that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and his deceased older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, built and planted two pressure cooker bombs near the finish line of the marathon.
Boston Marathon bombings suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is facing the death penalty in the US
The brothers lived in the Massachusetts town of Cambridge, home of the prestigious Harvard University, after emigrating to the US in 2002 from the Caucasus region of southern Russia.
Officials believe they set off the bombs in retaliation against the US for its military action in Muslim countries.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, was killed during a shootout with police days after the bombing. The younger brother was wounded and was eventually found inside a boat in a residential neighborhood.
Prosecutors allege Dzhokhar Tsarnaev wrote about his motivation for the bombing on the inside of the boat.
He allegedly wrote the US government was killing “our innocent civilians” and “I can’t stand to see such evil go unpunished”.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is also charged with killing a university police officer and carjacking.
He will be charged under the federal death penalty law; Massachusetts abolished the use of capital punishment in 1984.
Since the federal death penalty was reinstated in 1988, 70 people convicted have been placed on death row.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s lawyers asked a judge Wednesday to lift restrictions placed on him in prison, arguing that the conditions are overly harsh, have left him nearly totally isolated and are impairing their ability to defend him.
Lawyers for Boston Marathon bombing suspect said in court documents that he has been confined to his cell except for visits from them and “very limited access” to a small outdoor enclosure.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 20, is accused of building and planting bombs near the finish line of the April 15 marathon, killing three people and injuring more than 260. Authorities say he and his older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, ethnic Chechens from Russia who emigrated to the US as children, planned and carried out the attack to retaliate against the US for its involvement in Muslim countries.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s lawyers said in court documents that he has been confined to his cell except for visits from them and “very limited access” to a small outdoor enclosure
Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed four days after the Boston Marathon attack following a gun battle with police. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was found wounded and hiding in a boat in a backyard in Watertown. Authorities said he had scrawled anti-American messages on the inside of the boat, including “The US government is killing our innocent civilians” and “We Muslims are one body, you hurt one you hurt us all”.
In their motion, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s lawyers said “Special Administrative Measures” (SAM’s) were imposed on their client beginning in August, at the request of US attorney Carmen Ortiz and the approval of US attorney general Eric Holder.
“SAMs” are used in terrorism cases and other high-profile cases when authorities allege there is “substantial risk” that a defendant’s communications or contacts with people “could result in death or serious bodily injury” to others. The special restrictions were placed on shoe-bomb suspect Richard Reid, “American Taliban” John Walker Lindh and other terror suspects.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s lawyers say prosecutors have presented no evidence that the special restrictions are needed in Tsarnaev’s case.
“The government has not alleged that Mr. Tsarnaev has done or said anything since his arrest to commit violence, incite violence, or engage in communications that pose a security threat,” his lawyers argued in the filing.
They also said the special measures limit Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s interaction with people who are helping the defense and restrict the communications and other activities of the defense team.
Friends of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, Robel Phillipos, Dias Kadyrbayev and Azamat Tazhayakov, pleaded not guilty on Friday to charges that they hindered the investigation into the deadly attack.
Authorities allege that the friends went to Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s dorm room at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth three days after the bombings, soon after the FBI released photographs of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and his older brother.
Robel Phillipos, Dias Kadyrbayev and Azamat Tazhayakov are accused in an indictment of removing several items from the room, including Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s laptop computer and a backpack containing fireworks.
Robel Phillipos, 19, of Cambridge, was indicted last month on two counts of lying to authorities while he was being questioned.
His lawyers declined to comment after the brief arraignment in U.S. District Court but said in a statement that Robel Phillipos “had nothing to do whatsoever with the Boston Marathon bombing or destroying any evidence”.
“In the end, it will be clear that this prosecution should never have been brought in the first place,” Derege Demissie and Susan Church said in the statement.
Authorities allege that 20-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and his brother Tamerlan, 26, ethnic Chechens from Russia, planned and carried out twin bombings near the finish of the marathon on April 15.
Authorities allege that the friends went to Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s dorm room at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth three days after Boston Marathon bombings
Three people were killed and more than 260 were injured.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev died in a gun battle with police as authorities closed in on the brothers several days after the bombings.
Dias Kadyrbayev and Azamat Tazhayakov, both Kazakhstan nationals, are charged with obstruction of justice and conspiracy to obstruct justice.
All four men attended the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth.
Robert Stahl, an attorney for Dias Kadyrbayev, said his client was “shocked and horrified” by the bombings and had “no intent” to obstruct justice.
“I’m saying he didn’t dispose of evidence, didn’t understand it was evidence, and the rest will come out at trial,” Roberts Stahl said after the arraignment.
More than two dozen family members and friends attended the hearing to support Robel Phillipos. During an argument for bail in May, his lawyer portrayed him as a frightened and confused young man who was subjected to intense interrogation.
Azamat Tazhayakov’s parents and sister were in court during the brief arraignment. A translator said the family traveled from Kazakhstan in April and plan to remain in the U.S. until the case is resolved.
His attorney, Nicholas Wooldridge, said the government “rushed into things” by charging his client.
“This is a witch hunt,” Nicholas Wooldridge said after his arraignment.
All three men are due back in court on October 29.
Assistant U.S. Attorney John Capin said he expects to call about 20 witnesses during a two-week trial. No date has been set yet for it.
Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was shot through the face, legs and left hand before his capture, according to newly unsealed court documents.
Despite his injuries, Dhozkhar Tsarnaev was able to “respond vocally” to questioning, Dr. Stephen Odom said several days after the bombings.
The twin bombs at the finishing line of the Boston Marathon on April 15 killed three and injured more than 260.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.
He was found hiding inside a boat in a backyard garden after a two-day Boston-area manhunt.
The other suspect, his 26-year-old brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev, was killed during a shootout with police the night before.
Dr. Stephen Odom, a trauma surgeon who treated Dzhokhar Tsarnaev after his capture by heavily armed police, testified at a hearing at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center on April 22.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was shot through the face, legs and left hand before his capture, according to newly unsealed court documents
He told court officials that the worst of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s injuries was a gunshot wound from a bullet that entered through his mouth and exited the left side of his face.
“This was a high-powered injury that has resulted in skull-base fracture, with injuries to the middle ear, the skull base, the lateral portion of his C1 vertebrae, with a significant soft-tissue injury, as well as injury to the pharynx, the mouth, and a small vascular injury that’s been treated,” Dr. Stephen Odom explained, according to the transcript unsealed on Monday.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev also had multiple gunshot wounds elsewhere, including his legs and his left hand.
By the time Dr. Stephen Odom testified, the 19-year-old had had multiple medical procedures.
The doctor said despite his injuries and ongoing treatment with the painkiller Dilaudid, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev knew where he was and that he was receiving medical treatment.
“He knows that he has had multiple procedures, but I’m not sure how aware he is of the specifics,” Dr. Stephen Odom told the court.
“He knows that he has an injury to the neck and to the hand.”
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev appeared in court on July 10, with his face swollen and his arm in a cast.
Among the charges he faces are 30 counts of using a weapon of mass destruction. Prosecutors could press for the death penalty.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has also been charged over the death of a fourth person, a university police officer allegedly shot dead by Dzhokhar and his brother Tamerlan in the days after the attack.
Boston bombings suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev was in possession of right-wing American literature in the run-up to the attack, it was emerged today.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev subscribed to publications espousing white supremacy and government conspiracy theories.
He also had reading material on mass killings.
Until now Tamerlan Tsarnaev and his brother Dzhokhar were widely perceived as just self-styled radical jihadists.
It was reported that Tamerlan Tsarnaev possessed articles which argued that both 9/11 and the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing were government conspiracies.
Another in his possession was about “the rape of our gun rights”.
Reading material he had about white supremacy commented that “Hitler had a point”.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev also had literature which explored what motivated mass killings and noted how the perpetrators murdered and maimed calmly.
There was also material about US drones killing civilians, and about the plight of those still imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay.
Boston bombings suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev was in possession of right-wing American literature in the run-up to the attack
The Tsarnaev brothers, ethnic Chechens, spent their early years moving around a troubled region of Russia torn by a violent Islamic insurgency.
But for the last decade they lived in Cambridge, near Boston.
It appears Tamerlan Tsarnaev turned against the country and became passionate about Islam after becoming frustrated when his boxing career faltered because he did not have American citizenship.
A spokesperson for Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s mosque in Cambridge, Nicole Mossalam, said Tamerlan only prayed there occasionally. She portrayed him as an angry young man who latched onto Islam.
“As far connecting with the Islamic community here, to actually praying, being involved, doing acts of charity….all of those were pretty much lacking.
“I would say he was just a Muslim of convenience,” she said.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, Tamerlan’s younger brother who has been charged with the bombings, scrawled a note shortly before his capture stating: “We Muslims are one body. You hurt one you hurt us all.”
The brothers had been reading militant Islamic websites before the bombings.
The FBI has been investigating the brothers, and possible connections Tamerlan Tsarnaev might have had in the troubled Russian republic of Dagestan which he visited last year.
The House Intelligence Committee in Washington is being briefed on his connections.
The committee chairman, Mike Rogers said he believes the brothers’ mother, Zubeidat Tsarnaeva, was involved in Tamerlan’s radicalization.
“He had family members encouraging, we know that for sure,” he said.
Zubeidat Tsarnaeva denies the allegations.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed in April following a gun fight with police which ended when his younger brother ran him over while trying to escape.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, recently brought to court, denied all charges.
If convicted Dzhokhar Tsarnaev faces life imprisonment or the death penalty.
Police photographer Sgt Sean Murphy has leaked images of Boston Marathon suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev during his capture in anger at the picture used by Rolling Stone magazine for its next cover.
Sean Murphy said his photos showed “the real bomber” – the magazine cover was “hurtful” to the victims’ memories and their families.
Sgt Sean Murphy has leaked images of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev during his capture in anger at the picture used by Rolling Stone magazine for its next cover
The images, given to Boston Magazine, show Dzhokhar Tsarnaev with the red dot of a laser sight of a sniper rifle on his face.
The Boston Marathon bombings killed three people.
More than 260 were injured in the two explosions at the marathon finish line on April 15.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is also accused of the murder of a fourth person, a university police officer, who was allegedly shot dead by him and his brother Tamerlan in the days after the attack.
A spokesman for state police said the release of the photos had not been authorized, and they would not be given to other news media.
The spokesman also said Sgt Sean Murphy, a police photographer, was subject to an internal investigation.
A tweet from the author of the Boston Magazine article said Sgt Sean Murphy had been “relieved of duty”.
The police photographer told the magazine he released the contrasting images of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev as a response to the Rolling Stone cover.
The latest pictures show the “real Boston bomber, not someone fluffed and buffed for the cover of Rolling Stone magazine”, Sgt Sean Murphy said.
“These were real people, with real lives, with real families,” he said in a statement.
“And to have this cover dropped into Boston was hurtful to their memories and their families.”
The pictures were taken when Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, wounded after a gunfight with police, was found hiding in a dry-docked boat in a residential garden.
On Wednesday, Rolling Stone defended its decision to put Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on the cover, saying it was committed to serious, thoughtful coverage.
But two Massachusetts-based convenience store chains, Rockland and Tedeschi Food Shops, and national pharmacy chains CVS and Walgreens, said they would not stock the edition.
An outpouring of angry comments appeared on social media networks saying the magazine cover was tasteless.
The latest issue of Rolling Stone magazine cover featuring Boston bomb suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has caused outrage online.
Thousands of people posted on social media networks calling it “tasteless” and “disgusting”.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, who pleaded not guilty to all charges in connection to the bombings in April, is profiled in the forthcoming issue.
The image, which Dzhokhar Tsarnaev posted online himself, has also featured on the front page of the New York Times.
“What a disgrace, trying to make [Dzhokhar Tsarnaev] look like a rock star. Horrible,” Steve Simon posted on Rolling Stone‘s Facebook page, where more than 5,400 people have commented in the 12 hours since the cover was revealed online.
Rolling Stone magazine cover featuring Boston bomb suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has caused outrage online
On Twitter people said the picture of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev looked similar to an old cover featuring singer Jim Morrison of The Doors.
Singer Pink re-tweeted a message by radio presenter Ted Stryker who wrote: “Horrible, classless, stupid choice Rolling Stone. It’s not smart or edgy. Very disappointed.”
Boston punk band Dropkick Murphys, who recently donated $300,000 to victims of the bombings, also expressed their anger.
“Rolling Stone you should be ashamed,” the band tweeted.
“How about one of the courageous victims on your cover instead of this loser scum bag!”
Janet Reitman, Rolling Stone‘s contributing editor, spent two months interviewing Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s friends and family as the basis of the article.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, faces 30 counts of using a weapon of mass destruction in the two 15 April blasts that killed three, including an eight-year-old boy.
More than 260 people were injured at the Boston Marathon when two pressure cooker bombs packed with nails, ball bearings and other shrapnel were detonated at the finish line.
It was the worst mass-casualty attack on US soil since 9/11.
Prosecutors could press for the death penalty for 17 counts.
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