Two explosions at Boston Marathon finish line injure dozens: reports

[spaminator]

Slain Boston Marathon bombing suspect linked to triple killings
REUTERS
First posted: Wednesday, October 23, 2013 02:00 AM EDT | Updated: Wednesday, October 23, 2013 09:07 AM EDT
Slain Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev took part in a 2011 triple homicide in a nearby town, according to a Chechen immigrant who was himself killed when approached by investigators for questioning, federal prosecutors said on Monday in newly filed court papers.
Ibragim Todashev, 27, who has been identified as an acquaintance of Tsarnaev from their days as mixed martial-arts fighters in Boston, told investigators Tsarnaev participated in the murders of three men found stabbed to death in September 2011 in an apartment in Waltham, Massachusetts, according to the filing.
U.S. media had previously reported that one of the victims was a close friend of Tsarnaev and authorities believe the killings were drug related.
The FBI has said Todashev was shot and killed by a federal agent about a month after the marathon bombings when he suddenly turned violent while being questioned about possible links to Tsarnaev.
The latest disclosure about Tsarnaev came in a 23-page brief arguing against a motion by lawyers for his younger brother, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who is in custody on federal charges related to the marathon bombing that carry the death penalty.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's lawyers are seeking to force the government to share with defense attorneys investigative materials pertaining to his deceased older brother, Tamerlan.
The two siblings, both ethnic Chechens, are suspected of planting two pressure-cooker bombs that detonated at the finish line of the Boston Marathon on April 15, killing three people and injuring 264 others.
After allegedly shooting a police officer to death in an ambush three days later, the pair went on to engage in a late-night gun battle with police in nearby Watertown that ended with Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, dead, and 20-year-old brother, Dzhokhar, escaping.
Police later captured the younger Tsarnaev after a daylong manhunt in which most of the Boston area was placed on a security lockdown.
Dzhokhar has since pleaded not guilty to charges related to the bombing and the policeman's slaying.
Lawyers for the younger Tsarnaev have argued that information about the investigation of his older brother's possible role in the Waltham murders might be a mitigating factor in the government's case against Dzhokhar. But prosecutors said disclosure of the materials sought by his defense could jeopardize the continuing investigation into the triple homicide.
Slain Boston Marathon bombing suspect linked to triple killings | World | News | Toronto Sun

 

[spaminator]

Death penalty decision looms for Boston bomb suspect
Richard Valdmanis, REUTERS
First posted: Wednesday, January 29, 2014 05:28 PM EST | Updated: Wednesday, January 29, 2014 05:44 PM EST
BOSTON- The U.S. Justice Department will decide this week whether to seek the death penalty for suspected Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, accused of setting off two pressure-cooker bombs at the finish line of the world-renowned race.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday that he would announce his decision before a Friday deadline set by a U.S. District Court Judge in Boston.
Tsarnaev, a 20-year-old ethnic Chechen, is accused of detonating the home-made bombs along with his older brother, Tamerlan, who was killed during a shootout with police several days after the April 15 attack.
Three people, including an 8-year-old boy, were killed in the blasts, which marked the worst attack on U.S. soil since Sept. 11, 2001. Another 264 people were injured by shrapnel, many of them losing limbs.
The case has been seen as an important test for the Justice Department, which has vowed to prosecute acts of terrorism to the fullest extent of the law, but would be doing so in a state that has abolished the death penalty.
"I would say it is a complicated decision," said Austin Sarat, Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science at Amherst College in Massachusetts. "There are complicated cultural, political, and legal questions."
He would be surprised, he said, if the Justice Department took the death penalty off the table: "The President of the United States and the people at the Justice Department are not abolitionists, they are not against the death penalty... And they certainly will believe that they have reasonable grounds for prosecuting it as a capital case."
A Boston Globe survey found last year that 57 percent of Boston residents favored life in prison for Tsarnaev, if he is convicted, with 33 percent in favor of execution. Massachusetts abolished the death penalty in 1984, nearly four decades after the last execution in the state, but the sentence can still be applied in federal cases tried in the state.
Attorneys for Tsarnaev have argued against a possible death sentence, in part because they claim Dzhokhar was following the lead of his older brother. They have also accused the government of throwing up unfair obstacles to hinder preparation of their client's defense, including seeking to rush the start of trial and not sharing important evidence.
The blasts killed 8-year-old Martin Richard and injured several members of his family who were standing near the finish line. Krystle Campbell, 29, and Lu Lingzi, 23, also died in the explosions.
Tsarnaev is accused as well in the post-explosion shooting death of Sean Collier, 27, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer.
A trial date for Tsarnaev has not yet been set. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Death penalty decision looms for Boston bomb suspect | World | News | Toronto Sun

 

[spaminator]

Russia warned U.S. about Boston Marathon bomb suspect: Report
Reuters
First posted: Tuesday, March 25, 2014 09:31 PM EDT | Updated: Tuesday, March 25, 2014 10:47 PM EDT
WASHINGTON – Russian authorities warned the FBI in 2011 about Tamerlan Tsarnaev, one of two Chechen brothers accused of carrying out last year's Boston Marathon bombings, but U.S. authorities missed chances to detain him, NBC News reported on Tuesday.
Citing a congressional report it said could be released by the House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee as soon as Thursday, NBC News said the Russian intelligence agency FSB cabled the FBI about its concerns in March 2011, warning that Tsarnaev was known to have associated with militant Islamists.
The network said the FBI opened an investigation of Tsarnaev that month conducted by a joint task force of federal, state and local authorities. Tsarnaev was interviewed in person, and a memo was sent to the Customs and Border Protection database called TECS that would trigger an alert whenever he left or re-entered the United States.
But the investigation was closed in June 2011 after finding Tsarnaev had no links to terrorism, NBC quoted the report as saying.
In September 2011, the FSB sent a cable to the CIA, restating the warnings of the first memo. NBC News quoted sources close to the congressional investigation as saying a second note about Tsarnaev was entered into the TECS system the next month, but spelled his name "Tsarnayev."
The note directed that if Tsarnaev were encountered leaving or re-entering the United States, his detention was "mandatory."
In January 2012, Tsarnaev went to JFK airport in New York to board a flight to Moscow, triggering an alert. But he was not considered high priority among the 100 other names on a "Hot List" of people traveling through JFK that day, NBC News said, citing sources familiar with the report.
After spending six months in the Russian region of Dagestan, an experience U.S. investigators suspect played an important role in his radicalization, Tsarnaev flew back to JFK airport on July 17, 2012, but he was not detained or questioned because of the misspelling of his name, NBC News said.
U.S. officials have said a misspelling of Tsarnaev's name on flight records may have contributed to some law enforcement agencies not being alerted to his movements.
Several days after the April 15, 2013, Boston Marathon bombings that killed three people and wounded more than 260, Tsarnaev died after a gunfight with police while he and brother Dzhokhar, now 20, were trying to flee the city.
The younger Tsarnaev was wounded and later arrested and is awaiting trial in November on charges that could result in the death penalty if he is convicted.
NBC News quoted a congressional staffer as saying: "The report is not blaming the FBI," but "looking at processes and filling holes."
Tamerlan Tsarnaev, left, 26, is pictured in 2010 in Lowell, Massachusetts, and his brother Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, is pictured in an undated FBI handout photo in this combination photo. (REUTERS/The Sun of Lowell, MA/FBI/Handout)

Russia warned U.S. about Boston Marathon bomb suspect: Report | World | News | Toronto Sun

Florida prosecutor clears FBI agent in 2013 shooting tied to Boston bombings
Barbara Liston, Reuters
First posted: Tuesday, March 25, 2014 01:33 PM EDT | Updated: Tuesday, March 25, 2014 06:21 PM EDT
ORLANDO - An FBI agent who fired six to eight gunshots and killed a man being questioned last year about his connection to a suspect in 2013 Boston Marathon bombings has been cleared of any wrongdoing, officials said on Tuesday.
The agent's actions were justified to defend himself and a Massachusetts state police officer after the man threatened them in his Orlando apartment last May, according to separate reports issued by Florida State Attorney Jeff Ashton and the U.S. Justice Department.
"A complete review of the investigation leads me to conclude that criminal charges against the special agent of the FBI are not warranted," Ashton wrote in a letter to FBI Director James Comey.
Ashton's findings echoed the FBI's account of the shooting death of Chechen immigrant Ibragim Todashev, 27, who the agency has said suddenly attacked and injured the FBI agent during the interrogation.
Todashev was an acquaintance of Tamerlan Tsarnaev, one of two Chechen brothers accused of carrying out the April 2013 bombings at the Boston Marathon that killed three people and wounded more than 260.
At the time of his death, Todashev was being questioned about his suspected involvement in a September 2011 triple murder case in Massachusetts that law enforcement officials believed was linked to Tsarnaev.
After a long interview with law enforcement officers, Ashton said Todashev was writing a statement about his involvement in the triple murder when he suddenly threw a coffee table, striking the agent in the head and causing him to fall to the ground bleeding.
Todashev then ran to the kitchen while the agent and police officer pulled their weapons and he returned holding what they described as a pole - the metal handle of a broom stick - over his head.
The FBI agent shot Todashev three to four times as he approached the police officer, according to Ashton. Todashev dropped to his knees, then sprang toward the officer in a low-angled lunge. The agent then fired three or four shots, killing Todashev, Ashton said.
The Massachusetts police officer whom Todashev was lunging for when he was shot by the FBI agent said he had feared for his life.
"There's no question in my mind that if he had gotten a weapon from us, if it hadn't turned out the way it did, we might not be here today," the officer said.
The prosecutor said the entry angle of the bullets alleviated his concern about Todashev being shot in the back because it confirmed the account by the police officer, who had not seen the autopsy.
Ashton said there was no evidence the agent, who was aware of Todashev's training in mixed martial arts, acted with malice or committed intentional misconduct.
U.S. prosecutors also cleared the FBI agent of wrongdoing in findings released on Tuesday.
"Todashev ignored commands to show his hands, armed himself with an approximately five-foot long, hollow, metal utility pole and charged back" toward the FBI agent and police officer, a report by the Justice Department said.
But the leader of a Muslim civil liberties group said the Florida prosecutor's inquiry did not exonerate the agents "of any negligence or wrongdoing on their part which could have avoided the death of a suspect in questioning."
"The prosecutor's review was limited to a very narrow review of whether the officer was justified to use lethal force during the seconds he pulled the trigger," said Hassan Shibly, executive director of the Tampa-based branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).
The FBI account of the shooting has also been questioned by Todashev's father, who said his son was unarmed.
Shibly has said his organization's independent review concluded that Todashev, who was in the United States legally, was shot seven times and received a major wound, possibly a bullet hole, to the back of the head.
The CAIR investigation also found blood splatter and other physical damage at the scene that pointed to Todashev being shot while he was lying on the ground, Shibly added.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, died on April 18, 2013, after a gunfight with police that took place several days after the April 15 bombing attack, while he and brother Dzhokhar, now 20, were trying to flee the city. The younger Tsarnaev was wounded and later arrested and is awaiting trial on charges that could result in the death penalty if he is convicted.
Ibragim Todashev is pictured in this undated booking photo courtesy of the Orange County Corrections Department. (REUTERS/Orange County Corrections Department/Handout via Reuters)

Florida prosecutor clears FBI agent in 2013 shooting tied to Boston bombings | World | News | Toronto Sun

 

[DaSleeper]

Guilty!

 

[Sal]

Guilty!

guilty bastard, yup

 

[EagleSmack]

Now will the jury award him the death penalty?

It is the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and we do not have the Death Penalty here, but seeing this is a Federal Case, Capital Punishment was a sentence that could be handed down.

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

Now will the jury award him the death penalty?

It is the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and we do not have the Death Penalty here, but seeing this is a Federal Case, Capital Punishment was a sentence that could be handed down.

Oh, but he was so CUTE on the cover of Rolling Stone!

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

Now will the jury award him the death penalty?

It is the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and we do not have the Death Penalty here, but seeing this is a Federal Case, Capital Punishment was a sentence that could be handed down.

I would bet they would given that they found him guilty on all counts.

Wonder what the backup form of death penalty is if they don't have the drugs?

 

[Sal]

this Boston marathon has security up the wazoooooooo, you can't even put your items on the buses that take you in until the day before and nothing more goes in...and they scan you multiple times

this time better f*cking be okay...and the countdown begins...days to go and my stress level goes up

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

I would bet they would given that they found him guilty on all counts.

Wonder what the backup form of death penalty is if they don't have the drugs?

Not that I'm your google bitch or anything, but. . .

"The method of execution of Federal prisoners for offenses under the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 is that of the state in which the conviction took place, pursuant to 18 USC 3596. If the state has no death penalty, the judge must choose a state with the death penalty for carrying out the execution."

Methods of Execution | Death Penalty Information Center

 

[EagleSmack]

Not that I'm your google bitch or anything, but. . .

"The method of execution of Federal prisoners for offenses under the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 is that of the state in which the conviction took place, pursuant to 18 USC 3596. If the state has no death penalty, the judge must choose a state with the death penalty for carrying out the execution."

Methods of Execution | Death Penalty Information Center

Ahhhhh... dang. Well that answers my question and the question we were talking about at work.

Seeing that this is an ultra liberal state I wanted it to be carried out here instead of shipping off the burden to those barbaric states.

I am against Capital Punishment but if the trial is here and the jury is from here and they sentence him to death... let him be killed here.

Let's just say the Federal Judge from Massachusetts chooses Texas. Can Texas say "Do it yourself"?

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

Ahhhhh... dang. Well that answers my question and the question we were talking about at work.

You're welcome.

Seeing that this is an ultra liberal state I wanted it to be carried out here instead of shipping off the burden to those barbaric states.

I agree. It's Federal. What difference does it make which patch of ground it's on? The Federal government is the executing authority.

I am against Capital Punishment but if the trial is here and the jury is from here and they sentence him to death... let him be killed here.

Agreed, except for the "against CP" part. I don't think we have enough of it.

 

[taxslave]

Why not just let the families of the victims have 15 minutes with him?

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

Why not just let the families of the victims have 15 minutes with him?

Because the whole purpose of the criminal justice system is to replace private vengeance with societal sanction?

 

[Sal]

Why not just let the families of the victims have 15 minutes with him?

because then they have to live with what they have done in the heat of emotion...completely unfair

 

[gopher]

the hanging tree is society's best friend:

now, BRING ON THE HANGMAN!

 

[Locutus]

5 Key Questions That Were Not Asked During Trial of ‘Boston Bomber’ Dzhokhar

 

[B00Mer]

the hanging tree is society's best friend:

now, BRING ON THE HANGMAN!

They look so much alike... can we hang both?

 

[gopher]

Never seen that kisser before so can't honestly say he should hang. What did he ever do??


As for me, I'm all set to watch the Boston Marathon tomorrow and hope it will be fun & safe for all.

 

[B00Mer]

Never seen that kisser before so can't honestly say he should hang. What did he ever do??


As for me, I'm all set to watch the Boston Marathon tomorrow and hope it will be fun & safe for all.

That is Justin Trudeau on the right..