November Trial Date Set For Boston Marathon Bombings Suspect
BOSTON (CBS/AP) - The trial date for Boston Marathon bombings suspect Dzkokhar Tsarnaev has been set for Monday, November 3, 2014.
Federal judge George O'Toole made the announcement during a hearing in the case Wednesday at U.S. District Court in South Boston.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Doug Cope reports
November Trial Date Set For Boston Marathon Bombings Suspect
There is still no decision yet on where the trial will be held.
Defense lawyers wanted a trial date no earlier than September 2015. They told the judge they're not dragging their feet in requesting a later trial date, but they're faced with a "cumbersome" process trying to get access to all the evidence.
In a filing earlier this week, prosecutors said the trial is expected to last three months, plus another six weeks if Tsarnaev is convicted and jurors then have to decide whether he should be put to death.
Bombing victim Mark Fucarile was at Wednesday's proceedings.
"I can wait as long as it takes, the outcome is the same, he's going to die in jail or he's going to die sooner," Fucarile said, noting that if convicted, he is in favor of the death penalty. "It's a pretty cut and dry case. You see him in the photos with the backpack."
Tsarnaev, 20, has pleaded not guilty in the attack last April that killed three people and wounded 260 others.
Authorities say he and his older brother, Tamerlan, built and planted two pressure cooker bombs near the marathon finish line.
Defense attorney Judy Clarke said federal prosecutors have been "sluggish" in responding to requests to turn over evidence and there are a "tremendous amount of logistical hurdles" for the defense to be ready for trial in November.
In particular, Clarke cited 2,000 pieces of physical evidence that are still in the FBI's lab near Washington, D.C., that the defense hasn't been able to examine.
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