Crimedzhokhar-tsarnaev-captureddzhokhar tsarnaevBoston Marathon Bombing

Prison Restrictions Loosened For Accused Boston Bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev

Prison Restrictions Loosened For Accused Boston Bomber
Reuters
|
Open Image Modal
FILE - This file photo provided Friday, April 19, 2013 by the Federal Bureau of Investigation shows Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. A federal grand jury in Boston returned a 30-count indictment against Tsarnaev on Thursday, June 27, 2013, on charges including using a weapon of mass destruction and bombing a place of public use, resulting in death. (AP Photo/Federal Bureau of Investigation, File)

Dec 3 (Reuters) - U.S. officials on Tuesday agreed to loosen prison restrictions on accused Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev that the 20-year-old's lawyers have argued made it difficult to mount an effective defense.

In papers filed in U.S. District Court in Boston, officials said they had modified the special rules of Tsarnaev's confinement to allow his attorneys to discuss his statements with third parties to help them prepare their defense.

The new rules also allow additional people, including a mental health specialist, to meet with him without an attorney present.

Tsarnaev is accused of planting two homemade pressure-cooker bombs at the crowded finish line of the marathon on April 15, killing three people and injuring more than 260.

Prosecutors contend that Tsarnaev and his older brother, Tamerlan, killed a university police officer three days later in an unsuccessful attempt to steal his weapon as they prepared to flee the city.

Tamerlan, 26, died later that night in a gun battle with police. Dzhokhar got away, prompting a daylong lockdown of most of the Boston area as police searched for him. Dzhokhar was found hiding in a dry docked boat in a backyard in Watertown, Massachusetts, on April 19.

He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. If convicted, he faces the possibility of execution.

Tsarnaev is kept separate from other inmates at the prison facility west of Boston where he is being held awaiting trial. (Reporting by Scott Malone in New York; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Gunna Dickson)

Our 2024 Coverage Needs You

As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.

Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.

to keep our news free for all.

Support HuffPost

Before You Go

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev
Azamat Tazhayakov, Dias Kadyrbayev, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev(01 of17)
Open Image Modal
This undated photo added on April 18, 2013 to the VK page of Dias Kadyrbayev shows, from left, Azamat Tazhayakov and Dias Kadyrbayev, from Kazakhstan, with Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in Times Square in New York. Kadyrbayev and Tazhayakov, two college buddies of Tsarnaev, were jailed by immigration authorities the day after Tsarnaev's capture. They are not suspects, but are being held for violating their student visas by not regularly attending classes, Kadyrbayevs lawyer, Robert Stahl said. They are being detained at a county jail in Boston. (AP Photo/VK) (credit:AP)
Dias Kadyrbayev, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev(02 of17)
Open Image Modal
This undated photo found on the VK page of Dias Kadyrbayev shows Kadyrbayev, left, with Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, at an unknown location. Kadyrbayev and Azamat Tazhayakov, two college buddies of Tsarnaev from Kazakhstan, were jailed by immigration authorities the day after his Tsarnaev's capture. They are not suspects, but are being held for violating their student visas by not regularly attending classes, Kadyrbayevs lawyer, Robert Stahl said. They are being detained at a county jail in Boston. (AP Photo/VK) (credit:AP)
(03 of17)
Open Image Modal
FILE - This combination of undated file photos shows Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, left, and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19. The CIA added the name of dead Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev, to a U.S. government terrorist database 18 months before the deadly explosions, U.S. officials told The Associated Press on Wednesday, April 24, 2013. The CIA's request came about six months after the FBI investigated Tamerlan Tsarnaev, also at the Russian government's request, but the FBI found no ties to terrorism, officials said. (AP Photo/The Lowell Sun & Robin Young, File) (credit:AP)
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev(04 of17)
Open Image Modal
FILE - This wanted poster released by the FBI on Friday, April 19, 2013 shows Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the suspect the FBI orginally called suspect number 2 in the bombings at the Boston Marathon. (AP Photo/FBI) (credit:AP)
Katherine Tsarnaeva, Judith Russell(05 of17)
Open Image Modal
Katherine Tsarnaeva , widow of Boston Marathon bomber suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev, leaves the law office of DeLuca and Weizenbaum, with her mother Judith Russell, Tuesday, April 23, 2013, Providence, R.I. The attorneys, Amato DeLuca and Miriam Weizenbaum, issued a statement saying Tsnarnaeva is deeply mourning the bombing victims. They say that Tsarnaeva and her family were in shock when they learned of allegations against her husband and brother-in-law, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. (AP Photo/Stew Milne) (credit:AP)
Zubeidat Tsarnaeva(06 of17)
Open Image Modal
Zubeidat Tsarnaeva, mother of Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the two men accused of setting off bombs near the Boston Marathon finish line on April 15, 2013 in Boston, walks near her home in Makhachkala, Dagestan, southern Russia, Tuesday, April 23, 2013. The Tsarnaev brothers are accused of setting off the two bombs at the Boston Marathon on April 15 that killed three people and wounded more than 260. Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, was killed in a gun battle with police. His 19-year-old brother, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, was later captured alive, but badly wounded. (AP Photo/Ilkham Katsuyev) (credit:AP)
(07 of17)
Open Image Modal
This Monday, April 15, 2013 photo provided by Bob Leonard shows bombing suspects Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, center right in black hat, and his brother, Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev, 19, center left in white hat, approximately 10-20 minutes before the blasts that struck the Boston Marathon. It's a vexing puzzle about the Boston Marathon bombings: The younger of the two accused brothers hardly seemed headed for a monumental act of violence. How could he team up with his older brother to do this? Nobody knows for sure, but some experts in sibling research say the powerful bonds that can develop between brothers may have played a role. (AP Photo/Bob Leonard) (credit:AP)
(08 of17)
Open Image Modal
This image taken from surveillance video provided by the Boston Regional Intelligence Center shows Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev at a Bank of America ATM in Watertown, Mass. at 11:18 p.m. on April 18, 2013. The next day, police intercepted Dzhokhar and his 26-year-old brother Tamerlan in a blazing gunbattle that the elder brother dead. Dzhokhar, 19, is charged with carrying out the Boston Marathon bombing April 15 that killed three people and wounded more than 260, and he could get the death penalty. (AP Photo/Boston Regional Intelligence Center) (credit:AP)
(09 of17)
Open Image Modal
This image taken from surveillance video provided by the Boston Regional Intelligence Center shows Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev at a Bank of America ATM in Watertown, Mass. at 11:18 p.m. on April 18, 2013. The next day, police intercepted Dzhokhar and his 26-year-old brother Tamerlan in a blazing gunbattle that the elder brother dead. Dzhokhar, 19, is charged with carrying out the Boston Marathon bombing April 15 that killed three people and wounded more than 260, and he could get the death penalty. (AP Photo/Boston Regional Intelligence Center) (credit:AP)
Boston Marathon Explosions(10 of17)
Open Image Modal
This photo released Friday, April 19, 2013 by the Federal Bureau of Investigation shows a suspect that officials identified as Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, being sought by police in the Boston Marathon bombings Monday. (AP Photo/Federal Bureau of Investigation) (credit:AP)
(11 of17)
Open Image Modal
This combination of photos provided on Friday, April 19, 2013 by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, left, and the Boston Regional Intelligence Center, right, shows a suspect that officials have identified as Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, being sought by police in connection with Monday's Boston Marathon bombings. (AP Photo/FBI, BRIC) (credit:AP)
(12 of17)
Open Image Modal
CNN confirms this was a former Twitter profile picture of the suspected Boston Marathon bomber. (credit:J_tsar/Twitter)
(13 of17)
Open Image Modal
Dzhokhar's profile photo on the social networking site vk.com was uploaded on March 19 2012. h/t Buzzfeed (credit:vk.com)
(14 of17)
Open Image Modal
Boston Police Department tweeted out this photo of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on Friday morning. (credit:Twitter.com/Boston_Police)
(15 of17)
Open Image Modal
Robin Young (@hereandnowrobin) tweeted a photo of her nephew and Dzhokhar at graduation. She wrote: "My beloved nephew on right, djohar tsarnaev on left, happy cambridge Rindge and Latin grads.heartbreaking." (credit:Twitter.com/hereandnowrobin)
(16 of17)
Open Image Modal
This photo, found on the social networking site vk.com shows Dzhokhar with an unidentified friend. The photo was uploaded 8 April, 2012. (credit:vk.com)
(17 of17)
Open Image Modal
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev (shown here, in black, with his face toward the camera) faced Milford High School's Andy Gleeson during a wrestling match in December 2010 in Framingham, Mass. (credit:Jose Pinto / Milford Patch)
Suggest a correction
|
Submit a tip