BostonSuspect2United States Attorney General Eric Holder today authorized federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty against Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev, one of the accused bombers of the 2013 Boston Marathon.

U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz, who covers Boston, announced immediately after Holder’s authorization that her prosecutors would, indeed, seek the death penalty against Tsarnaev.

“We support this decision and the trial team is prepared to move forward with the prosecution,” Ortiz said in a statement.

Tsarnaev and his older brother, Tamerlan, allegedly masterminded and carried out the dual pressure cooker bombings at the Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013. Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed during a violent confrontation with police days later, while Dzhokhar was found hiding in a boat after eluding police for several hours on Friday, April 19.

Massachusetts has no death penalty, but Tsarnaev is being tried in federal court in Boston, and the federal government does use the death penalty, though it is fairly rare.

“While I understand the public interest in this matter, we have rules that limit the release of information and the scope of public statements,” Ortiz said in her brief statement. “The process by which this decision was made is confidential, and I will not comment further about that process other than to say that it entailed a careful and detailed consideration of the particular facts and circumstances of this case.”

About The Author

John Guilfoil is the editor-in-chief of Blast: Boston's Online Magazine and the Blast Magazine Network. He can be reached at [email protected]. Tweet @johnguilfoil.

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