In Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's case, court completes questioning defence witnesses

The defence of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who is accused of organizing the terror act during the marathon in Boston in 2013, has completed the presentation of its pieces of evidence. On March 31, the court questioned as witnesses Mark Spencer, an independent expert, and Elaina Graff, an FBI agent. Elaina Graff, who analyzed fingerprints on more than 800 pieces of evidence, said at the trial that the majority of fingerprints on the materials for making bombs belonged to Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the RIA "Novosti" reports.

The first phase of the trial, when after the presentations of the parties the jury is to determine whether the defendant is guilty or not, comes to its end. This was stated by Fatima Tlisova, a reporter of the "Voice of America", who reported about the court session on her microblog in Twitter.

Judge O'Toole has announced the break until April 6. At the next court session, the defence is to deliver its final speech to the jury, Fatima Tlisova reports.

According to the reporter of the "Voice of America", after the verdict concerning the guilt is announced, the second phase of the trial will begin, at the end of which the jury will make a decision, Fatima Tlisova explains.

"The second phase means the repetition of the circle: the prosecution and defence will fight for the severity of the sentence. The prosecution attorneys demand the death penalty. The defence tries to mitigate the sentence and seek for life-long (imprisonment) for the client, in this case, without the right of appeal," Fatima Tlisova reports.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.