Washington, Jan 14 (EFE).- The defense team of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, charged in the 2013 Boston marathon bombings, has asked for a postponement of the trial on account of the global indignation that followed the recent attacks in Paris which it argues could affect the jury's objectivity.
"Now, at the very moment this attempt is to be made, the Boston bombings are being newly placed at the center of a grim global drama," petitioned the lawyers, according to the Boston Globe newspaper on Tuesday.
"At a minimum, the court should pause long enough to let this latest storm subside," they argued.
Last week, Tsarnaev attended the first session of the jury selection process for the trial, scheduled to begin Jan. 26, which could last up to four months and where his conviction could lead to the death sentence.
Tsarnaev, 21, is accused, along with his late brother, of preparing two bombs and detonating them at the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Apr. 15, 2013, killing three people and injuring more than 260, 17 of whom had to have limbs amputated.
The accused, a U.S. citizen born in Russia's Dagestan region, has pleaded not guilty to the charges, which include using a weapon of mass destruction and four murders.
Apart from three deaths in the bombings, he is accused of killing a security officer during his escape, which also led to the death of his elder brother, Tamerlan.
On Jan. 5, the judge, defense and prosecution began reviewing 1,200 candidates from the eastern district of Massachusetts to select 12 jury members and six alternates.
The judge then cautioned the candidates against following up the case or making investigation about it on the media or social networking sites.
The jury members must all be open to giving the maximum sentence, which is the death penalty, if the case calls for it.
The death penalty is illegal in Massachusetts but it could be applied in this case because Tsarnaev is facing federal charges.
In case he receives the maximum sentence, he would have to be executed in another state, probably Indiana.
Tsarnaev's defense attorney, Judy Clarke, tried unsuccessfully to have the judge postpone the start of the trial and to have the trial moved far from Boston, the residents of which were traumatized by the bombing.
