Daily Commentary – Tuesday, March 31, 2015 – Decorated Boston Police Officer Shot in Face

• He was in a medically induced coma on Saturday after being shot right below the eye point blank. The shooter was killed.

Daily Commentary – Tuesday, March 31, 2015 Download

Jury Selection Begins Monday in the Boston Marathon Bombing Case of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev

Boston Bombing: Trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Begins Monday With Jury Selection.

Today, the trial begins for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in the case of the Boston Marathon bombing . Jury selection begins as 3000 people have been put on notice as to potential jurors to make up 12 jurors and 6 alternates.

The man charged with the terror attack near the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon goes on trial Monday in a federal courthouse less than two miles from where two bombs, concealed in backpacks, exploded with devastating force.

Despite repeated requests from defense lawyers for a delay or a change of venue away from Boston, a federal appeals court Saturday cleared the way for jury selection to begin.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 21, is charged with 30 criminal counts in the April 2013 bombings, which killed three people and injured 260 others, and for in the murder of an MIT campus police officer, Sean Collier, a few days after the bomb attack.

Tsarnaev has pleaded not guilty. His older brother, Tamerlan, also accused in the crimes, died in a shootout with police.

CNN – Boston bombing trial lawyers fail to reach plea deal.

As accused Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev goes on trial Monday few doubt the outcome of the first phase of the two-phase trial. It’s the second, the sentencing phase, including a possible death sentence, that has been the subject of behind the scenes discussions.

Federal prosecutors and defense attorneys for Tsarnaev have held talks on a possible plea agreement but failed to reach one, U.S. officials familiar with the talks say.

The discussions in recent months have centered on the possibility of Tsarnaev pleading guilty and receiving a life sentence without parole, according to the officials.

Boston Marathon Bombing Suspect’s Friend Azamat Tazhayakov Found Guilty of Obstruction of Justice and Conspiracy in Impeding Investigation into the Terror Bombing

GUILTY, ONE DOWN … THREE TO GO!

Azamat Tazhayakov, a college friend of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, was convicted Monday of on charges of obstruction of justice and conspiracy involving impeding the investigation into the Boston Marathon bombing. Tazhayakov is scheduled to be sentenced on October 16. He faces a five-year maximum for conspiracy and 20-year maximum for obstruction. Dias Kadyrbayev faces a separate trial in September. A third friend, Robel Phillipos, is charged with lying to investigators. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has pleaded not guilty in the bombing and multiple murders is scheduled to stand trial in November. Dzhokhar faces the possibility of the death penalty if convicted.

Azamat Tazhayakov was charged with obstruction of justice and conspiracy, with prosecutors saying he agreed with a friend’s plan to remove Tsarnaev’s backpack containing altered fireworks from his dorm room a few days after the 2013 bombing.

His trial was the first stemming from the bombing, which killed three and injured more than 260 near the marathon’s finish line. Tazhayakov’s mother sobbed loudly and rocked in her seat as the jury announced the guilty verdicts, which it reached on the third day of deliberations.

Tazhayakov’s lawyers argued that it was the other friend, Dias Kadyrbayev, who removed the items from the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth dorm room and then threw them away.

Prosecutors told the jury that both men shared in the decision to remove the items and get rid of them to protect Tsarnaev. Kadyrbayev faces a separate trial in September. A third friend, Robel Phillipos, is charged with lying to investigators.

Friend convicted of impeding Boston Marathon probe.

Don’t do the crime, if you can’t do the time …

A college friend was convicted Monday of trying to protect Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev by agreeing with another friend to get rid of a backpack and disabled fireworks they took from his dorm room three days after the attack.

Azamat Tazhayakov, a baby-faced 20-year-old, put his hands over his face and shook his head as guilty verdicts were read on federal charges of obstruction of justice and conspiracy in the first trial stemming from the twin bombings, which killed three and injured more than 260 near the marathon’s finish line in April 2013. His mother sobbed loudly and rocked in her seat.

25 Year Old Kevin “Kayvon” Edson Arrested for Bringing Backpack to Boston Marathon Finish Line

There is always one idiot in the crowd …

25 year old Kevin Edson was arrested Tuesday after leaving his backpack unattended at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. The area was evacuated  on the one-year anniversary of last year’s Boston Marathon bombings after  police said two backpacks had been found in the area. The Boston police executed a controlled detonation of two suspicious bags.  Kevin Edson faces charges of threatening battery, disorderly conduct, possession of a hoax explosive device, threats to commit a crime, disturbing a public assembly and disturbing the peace.

Edson can be seen here in this VIDEO walking down the street in a bizarre manner.

Twitter - WBZ Boston News

Kevin Edson, a 25-year-old Boston man, was detained Tuesday night and the area near the Boston Marathon finish line evacuated after an unattended backpack was found.

Boston Police said a backpack was left unattended by the finish line at 6:50 p.m. There was a second bag, but that was not left by the suspect. The Boylston Street area was shut down for about 3 hours, with pedestrians and motorists asked to avoid the area.

NECN witnessed a man being put in the back of a police cruiser on Tuesday night. Boston Police said the suspect faces charges of threatening battery, disorderly conduct, possession of a hoax explosive device, threats to commit a crime, disturbing a public assembly and disturbing the peace. According to the Suffolk District Attorney, he is expected to be arraigned on those charges Wednesday in Boston Municipal Court.

“With the marathon coming, we are taking it seriously,” Boston Police Superintendent Randall Halstead said. “Our officers have been trained in looking for any kind of suspicious activity. I want to emphasize the fact that the safety of the public is utmost, and the training my officers have gone through will come to the forefront. That’s what we’re going to do to make this the best marathon in the wake of last year.”

Federal Prosecutors Will Seek the Death Penalty Against Boston Marathon Bombing Suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev

FINALLY ATTORNEY GENERAL ERIC HOLDER GETS SOMETHING RIGHT, FEDS WILL SEEK DEATH PENALTY AGAINST DZHOKHAR TAARNAEV …

United States federal prosecutors will seek the death penalty against  Dzhokhar Tsarnaev for his role in the Boston Marathon bombing that took place on April 15, 2013 that left three dead and many more seriously injured losing limbs. U.S. attorney in Boston, Carmen Ortiz, said in a statement that prosecutors there supported the decision and that the “trial team is prepared to move forward.” It can’t come soon enough. If there was ever a case for the death penalty, this would be it. Let’s give Dzhokhar Tsarnaev his fair trial, let the jury deliberate and let’s hope that common sense prevails and he is found guilty and sentenced to death.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev better hope that Boston Red Sox’s Big Papi is not selected for jury duty …

The Justice Department announced Thursday that it would seek the death penalty against Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the 20-year-old man whom prosecutors have accused of bombing the Boston Marathon, killing three people and injuring more than 200 others.

“The nature of the conduct at issue and the resultant harm compel this decision,” Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said in a short statement.

The U.S. attorney in Boston, Carmen Ortiz, said in a statement that prosecutors there supported the decision and that the “trial team is prepared to move forward.”

The case is in its early stages, and prosecutors could yet use the threat of death to strike a plea bargain with the young man and avoid a lengthy trial with bombing victims taking the stand to recount the attack.

Notice to seek the death penalty can be read HERE.

NOTICE OF INTENT TO SEEK THE DEATH PENALTY

The United States of America, by and through its undersigned counsel and pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §3593(a),notifies the Court and
Defendant DZHOKHAR TSARNAEV that the United States believes the circumstances of the offenses charged in Counts One through Ten
and Counts Twelve through Eighteen of the Indictment are such that, in the event of a conviction, a sentence of death is justified
under Chapter 228 (Sections 3591 through 3598) of Title 18 of the United States Code, and that the United States will seek the sentence
of death for these offenses. (more)

CNN has audio of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s mother reaction and for some reason decides to report on the news that  Dzhokhar’s mother thinks he is innocent of the Boston Marathon bombings and the murders that took place in the aftermath. CNN also then reported that many in southern Russia are distrustful of the US government’s case against  Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. I wonder why their ratings are waning?

The Indictment and Complaint can be read HERE, via LAWFARE.