BOSTON (WHDH) - A motion recently filed by Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s legal team is asking for more time to prepare to appeal his death penalty sentence.
The motion filed in the First Circuit United States Court of Appeals in Boston is asking to extend the Aug. 20 deadline for filing an opening brief by 90 days to Nov. 18.
Tsarnaev’s legal team wrote in the motion that they are looking over 1,738 docket entries, 1,675 exhibits and over 10,000 pages of transcripts as they focus on the appeal.
“Because of the extraordinary challenges this case poses, we still have time-consuming work to do,” the motion read.
The legal team says they have identified about 30 reasons to drop the death penalty, including “issues concerning venue, multiple errors in the selection of the death-qualified jury, (and) the admission of evidence obtained through the use of Mr. Tsarnaev’s involuntary confession.”
The counsel is continuing to work on other claims that are going through the drafting and editing process, according to the motion.
“Undersigned counsel will continue to work diligently and to make it the highest priority to complete Mr. Tsarnaev’s brief promptly,” the motion’s conclusion read.
Tsarnaev was sentenced to death after he was convicted on 30 counts in connection with the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing and the shooting death of MIT police officer Sean Collier.
Click here to read the full US v. DZHOKHAR TSARNAEV motion.
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