Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is due to appear in court on Thursday ahead of his trial that starts next month.
As the Associated Press reported, this appearance will mark the first time anyone has seen him in public in more than a year. The last time the public saw Tsarnaev was when he was indicted on 30 federal charges in July 2013.
Reuters noted that the hearing on Thursday is the final pre-trial conference between the 21-year-old’s legal counsel and prosecutors.
On April 15, 2013, two pressure cooker bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston Marathon killing three people and injuring more than 260 others. Tsarnaev and his older brother Tamerlan were accused of detonating the explosives. The elder suspect was killed during a shootout with police. A manhunt ensued in and around Boston before the surviving brother was captured and taken into custody.
Tsarnaev’s attorneys requested that the trial be moved to another city, stating that their client would not get a fair trial in Boston. A judge, however, denied that request.
If Tsarnaev is found guilty he faces the death penalty.