US wants Tsarnaev’s account to go toward criminal fines

federal prosecutors are continuing to push for convicted boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar tsarnaev’s entire inmate trust account, which has more than $4,000, to be turned over and applied toward his outstanding criminal penalties.

in court filings on tuesday, prosecutors noted that a decision last year from a federal appeals court permitted the government to obtain turnover of all funds in a prison inmate’s trust account that did not exceed the amount of funds from sources other than prison wages.

tsarnaev, 30, currently sits on death row at a federal supermax prison in Colorado. Prosecutors said that during his incarceration, tsarnaev received more than $26,000 in deposits to his inmate trust account, of which just under $600 was from prison wages. As of Monday, tsarnaev had $4,223.86 in the account.

in 2016, tsarnaev was ordered to pay a $3,000 special assessment and more than $101,000,000 in criminal restitution. to date, he has paid $2,647.93, according to court filings.

Prosecutors first sought turnover of such funds in early 2022, but the court has yet to rule on the government’s turnover motion.

An inmate may have a trust account for any money they make through prison employment or funds deposited by outside sources, such as family or friends, according to the court documents. the account is maintained by the bureau of Prisons.

in June 2021, tsarnaev received a $1,400 COVID-19 relief payment. the 2020 CARES Act, which authorized payments of up to $1,200 per person during the pandemic, did not exclude inmates in jail or prison, the Associated Press reported.

And throughout his time behind bars he has also received donations from people scattered across the country, including Massachusetts communities such as Roslindale, North billerica, Malden, and Worcester, as well as places much farther afield like las Vegas, tulsa, Okla., and Nashville, according to court filings.

Messages left with tsarnaev’s attorneys were not immediately returned tuesday.

tsarnaev has lived nearly one-third of his life on federal death row, after a jury convicted him for helping his brother plant homemade bombs at the finish line of the 2013 boston Marathon.

two bombs exploded at the finish line of the 117th Marathon. the explosions, which occurred at 2:50 p.m. and were 12 seconds apart, killed three people: Martin Richard, 8; lingzi lu, 23; and Krystle Campbell, 29. More than 260 others were wounded. A boston police officer, Dennis “D.J.” Simmonds, died of a brain aneurysm a year after the attacks.

tsarnaev, then 19, was arrested a few days after the bombings and admitted his role but pleaded not guilty to charges in the case. His lawyers have argued he was influenced by his 26-yearold brother, tamerlan, who died after Dzhokhar tsarnaev ran over him during a confrontation with police, and that he shouldn’t be put to death.

Earlier this month, a federal appeals court ordered a US District Court judge to investigate whether two jurors who helped decide that tsarnaev should die were fair and impartial during the 2015 trial. following that development, federal prosecutors said they were mulling their next step in the protracted legal battle to impose the death penalty against him.

the decision means that if the District Court determines jurors were biased, and should have been excused during jury selection, tsarnaev is entitled to a new trial to determine whether he will be executed or sentenced to life in prison.

Prosecutors may appeal the ruling directly to the Supreme Court, or ask all 10 judges sitting on the first Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider thursday’s 2-1 decision by three of its members. if they don’t challenge the ruling, then the trial judge would be required to investigate defense claims that two jurors were biased and should have been excused during jury selection.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev

While he’s been in jail, he has received funds from donors locally and across the country.