Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was charged Monday in the Boston Marathon bombings. The 19-year-old, who remains hospitalized with gunshot wounds, faces one count of using a weapon of mass destruction resulting in death and one count of malicious destruction of property resulting in death. If convicted, he could face the death penalty.
"Although our investigation is ongoing, today's charges bring a successful end to a tragic week for the city of Boston, and for our country," U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement.
Tsarnaev will be tried in a civilian court, not by a military tribunal as an enemy combatant. White House spokesman Jay Carney noted that U.S. law prohibits citizens from being tried by military tribunals. Tsarnaev, a Chechen native, is a naturalized U.S. citizen. "We will prosecute this terrorist through our civilian system of justice. Under U.S. law, United States citizens cannot be tried in military commissions," Carney said Monday.
A public defender has been appointed to Tsarnaev. Magistrate Judge Marianne B. Bowler was present when the teen was charged in his room at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital.
Tsarnaev was captured in Watertown Friday night following a day-long manhunt that shutdown Boston and surrounding areas. His older brother Tamerlan, also a suspect in the attack, was killed early Friday morning in a shootout with police.
The bombings killed 3 marathon onlookers and wounded more than 170 others.
Read more about Dzhokhar Tsarnaev
###
Click here for more Law News
