Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev pleads ‘not guilty’
17 of 30 federal charges carry the death penalty
MIT police officers stand at attention outside the federal courthouse prior to arraignment for Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Wednesday, July 10, 2013, in Boston. MIT officer Sean Collier was killed by the alleged suspects. The 19-year-old Tsarnaev has been charged with using a weapon of mass destruction, and could face the death penalty. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)
Share
The man accused in a bombing near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, which killed three people and injured more than 260 others, has pleaded not guilty to 30 charges.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, appeared in a public court for the first time Wednesday where he entered the not-guilty plea.
The Boston Herald reported that line ups of media and curious members of the public were already appearing outside the U.S. District Courthouse in Boston on Wednesday morning. Public seating in the courtroom was on a first-come-fist-served basis, with some seating reserved for victims and their families. At least three dozen bombing victims were in the courtroom as Tsarnaev entered his plea, reports The New York Times.
Tsarnaev has been indicted by a U.S. federal grand jury on 30 counts, including use of weapons of mass destruction and murder. In addition to the three people who died during the bombing, Tsarnaev is also accused of killing MIT police officer Sean A. Collier during a confrontation while he was on the run after the bombing.
Seventeen of the 30 federal charges Tsarnaev faces carry the death penalty, reports the Boston Globe. Massachusetts banned the death penalty in 1984, but these are federal charges.