Boston bomber trial: ‘Dead Man Walking’ nun causes trial to be delayed
Defence wanted nun to testify against the death penalty
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Your support makes all the difference.The sentencing phase in the trial of convicted Boston bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been delayed until the start of next week after the defence tried to call to the stand Sister Helen Prejean, the anti-death penalty nun who wrote the book “Dead Man Walking”.
Prosecutors objected to the defence using Sister Prejean and Janet Vogelsang, a social worker known for profiling the background and character of defendants, the New York Times reported.
After lengthy arguments in private on Thursday between prosecutors, defence lawyers and the judge, jurors were sent home and told that the trial would resume on Monday.
The prosecution did not give any explanation in the court as to why they objected to Sister Prejean, though she would testify against prosecutors’ wishes of convincing the jury to sentence Tsarnaev to execution.
Sister Prejean came to prominence after she developed a relationship with Louisiana inmate Patrick Sonnier, who was executed in 1984. She wrote the book “Dead Man Walking” shortly after his execution and it was adapted into an Oscar-winning film of the same name.
Before the trial was postponed by the judge, the defence was set to wrap on Thursday and a verdict was expected shortly after. Now, the defence will pick up again on Monday with the intention of sparing Tsarnaev’s life.
The jury only has two choices in the penalty phase of the trial, after Tsarnaev was found guilty earlier this month for his role in the bombings at the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon that killed three people and injured 260. They can sentence him to death or to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Tsarnaev was found guilty of 30 crimes with which he was charged, 17 of which carry the possibility of the death penalty.
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