BOSTON — Jury selection in the federal death penalty trial of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is going slower than expected. Here's what you need to know as the trial enters its third week:
THE CASE:
Tsarnaev, 21, is charged in a deadly terror attack on the 2013 Boston Marathon. Two pressure-cooker bombs placed near the finish line killed three people, including an 8-year-old boy, and injured more than 260. Prosecutors say Tsarnaev and his older brother, Tamerlan, planted and detonated the bombs in retaliation for U.S. wars in Muslim countries. Tamerlan Tsarnaev died in a shootout with police several days after the bombings.
JURY SELECTION:
Individual questioning of prospective jurors began last week, and Judge George O'Toole Jr. originally said he would question 40 people each day. But only 34 people were questioned during the first two days. More than 1,350 people have filled out juror questionnaires.
Prospective jurors are called into the courtroom in groups of about 20 and given initial instructions from the judge. O'Toole has told potential jurors that they will decide whether Tsarnaev lives or dies. Seventeen of the 30 charges against Tsarnaev are capital crimes punishable by death. Tsarnaev sits at a large table, surrounded by his lawyers and across the table from prosecutors. The judge sits near the prospective jurors and does most of the questioning. The judge has been allowing prosecutors and Tsarnaev's lawyers to ask follow-up questions.
THE DEFENDANT:
Tsarnaev's curly hair was long and unkempt during the first phase of jury selection. He also had a scruffy beard. When individual questioning started, Tsarnaev had a haircut, and his beard was neatly trimmed. He spent much of the time looking down and drawing on a legal pad and occasionally looked at jurors as they were questioned.
