Dzhokhar Tsarnaev: Boston Marathon Bomber’s Attorneys Complain, Whine, And Pout

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev wasn’t treated properly by the FBI following his capture for killing and maiming Boston Marathon runners and spectators say his lawyers in their latest attempt to defend the indefensible.

“Cry me a river,” is probably what’s on the minds of the families of bombing victims, but for Tsarnaev and his obviously shameless defense team, it’s their first attempt to cripple the prosecution.

While his older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, was fortunately shot down and killed in the days following the bombing, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the younger of the suspected terrorist brothers, was inexplicably able to escape and allude police, before finally being shot and captured himself.

The Chicago Tribune reports that Tsarnaev’s defense lawyers filed a document Wednesday complaining that Dzhokhar’s rights were violated because the FBI questioned him while he was in the hospital, even though he requested a lawyer “10 times” and no other threats or bombs continued to present any danger. The filing is reportedly an effort to invalidate all statements made by Tsarnaev to the FBI while he was in the hospital.

“The questioning continued for hours, in what was obviously an effort to extract as much incriminating information as possible, without regard for the protections of the Fifth Amendment,” complain Dzhokhar’s lawyers in the 21-page filing. All of the statements by Tsarnaev were in writing because his jaw was wired shut due to his injuries.

Along with the wired shut jaw, those injuries included an eye stitched closed, a muted left ear, and a bullet wound that fractured Tsarnaev’s skull, likely resulting in a concussion and brain trauma, the lawyers threw in for good measure to strengthen their contentions. But they weren’t through: Dzhokhar was also handcuffed to his bed railing, heavily medicated, and everything he conveyed during the questioning was involuntary, making the alleged terrorist’s statements even more inadmissible as far as his lawyers were concerned.

Meanwhile, law enforcement cited a “public safety exception” which is used when public safety is considered to be in jeopardy and allows questioning of suspects, even bypassing Miranda rights, to gain potentially vital information.

Regardless, the defense lawyers say because Tsarnaev wrote and circled lawyer 10 times during the hours of exhaustive questioning and his request for one wasn’t fulfilled, everything he said is moot.

Perhaps the most absurd claim of the defense lawyers is that Dzhokhar assured his interrogators that only he and his brother had been involved in the bombing and that this assurance negated any continued threat to the public, or use of the “public safety exception”.

According to the filing, authorities questioned Tsarnaev for around 27 hours, including breaks, before the alleged bomber was appointed a lawyer. Supposedly two federal public defenders had requested a meeting with Tsarnaev but said request was denied.

Topics covered during Tsarnaev’s questioning included how the bombs were made, his Islamic beliefs, and U.S. foreign policy.

“These questions went well beyond even the Department of Justice’s own written policy regarding use of the public safety exception to interrogate members of terrorist organizations,” bellyached the defense.

Finally, Tsarnaev’s lawyers expressed indignation at how interrogators told him his brother was still alive.: “Is my brother still alive? I know you said he is. Are you lying?” the filing says Tsarnaev wrote.

The suspected terrorist also wrote, “I’m exhausted,” “Can we do this later,” and “I need to throw up”.

It was unclear whether these statements were to be celebrated or supposed to make one feel sorry for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, but we can only assume the defense lawyers hope for the latter.