Tsarnaev Lawyers Fail to Reach Plea Agreement With Prosecution: Reports

Lawyers representing Dzhokhar Tsarnaev have reportedly failed to reach a plea agreement with the prosecutors, under which the Boston Marathon bombing suspect could have received a life sentence without parole.

MOSCOW, January 5 (Sputnik) – Lawyers, representing Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who is accused of carrying out a deadly attack during the 2013 Boston Marathon, failed to reach a plea agreement with federal prosecutors in recent months, CNN reports, citing US officials, familiar with the situation.

Lawyers were discussing a plea deal, under which Tsarnaev would plead guilty and receive a life sentence without parole, the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the media outlet.

However, the US Department of Justice was reportedly against such a deal. CNN reported the anonymous officials as saying that the DoJ wants the death penalty to remain an option at the sentencing.

Federal prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for 21-year-old Tsarnaev, who is facing 30 counts, ranging from murder to using a weapon of mass destruction.

Attorneys, representing Tsarnaev, have not commented on these assertions.

The Boston Marathon bombings, which took place on April 15, 2013, left three people dead and 250 injured. Dzhokhar and his brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev were identified as suspects in the blasts. Tamerlan was killed during a shootout with police, four days after a large scale search operation for the two men was launched. Dzhokhar was arrested on April 19.

The trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is scheduled to begin on January 5 with jury selection.