UPDATED at 1:10 pm PST: Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has pleaded not guilty to all 30 counts.
Boston Marathon bombing victims and their families will come face to face with Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on Wednesday morning, as he is set to appear in federal court for his arraignment.
Tsarnaev, 19, is one of two suspected bombers in the Boston Marathon bombing from April 15, which killed three and left over 260 people wounded. His older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, was killed a few days after the Boston Marathon bombing, in a shootout with police.
He was formally charged by a grand jury last month.
READ: Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Indicted by Grand Jury on 30 Counts (ILLUME)
What is arraignment?
In Wednesday's hearing, Tsarnaev will stand before a judge and hear the charges against him. The arraignment stage of a trial is one of the earlier stages of the trial. Under federal criminal procedure, Tsarnaev will have to make a plea in open court, after he hears the charges against him.
Tsarnaev is charged with 30 counts, including using a weapon of mass destruction.
Seventeen of the charges are capital crimes, which mean that Tsarnaev could face the death penalty.
Will Tsarnaev plead not guilty?
While Tsarnaev's mother, Zubeidat Tsarnaeva, claims that her son is innocent, his indictment indicates otherwise. According to his indictment, the younger Tsarnaev scribbled on the wall of a boat where he was hiding. His scribbling could easily be construed as a pseudo-confession of his guilt by prosecutors.
If he pleads not guilty to the charges, Tsarnaev's defense attorneys might try to lessen the charges against him by showing how he was manipulated by his older brother into committing the acts. While this won't avoid him jail time entirely, it could stop him from receiving the death penalty.
On the other hand, he could plead guilty if he is presented with the right plea deal. But with the seemingly overwhelming weight of evidence against him and the public's desire to bring him to justice, it's likely that prosecutors won't have much of a deal to cut for the younger Tsarnaev.
The federal court in Boston is anticipating huge numbers for attendance. According to a spokesperson at the U.S. Attorney's office, there is a designated space reserved for the victims and their families.
Further Reading:
