Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the man convicted and sentenced to death for the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013, is currently fighting to prevent federal prosecutors from seizing the funds he has accumulated in his prison canteen account. An appeal filed by Tsarnaev’s attorney argues that he is not hoarding funds nor spending frivolously. Federal prosecutors claim Tsarnaev has received around $26,000 in donations from various sources, including strangers, his sisters, and his attorneys.
According to the filing by Tsarnaev’s lawyer, his client received a $1,400 COVID relief payment and continues to receive unsolicited deposits from unknown individuals. However, Tsarnaev does not have access to these funds. Federal officials in Massachusetts have been trying to get Tsarnaev to relinquish the COVID relief money and any other funds in his inmate trust account to be used towards the over $101 million he owes his victims. Despite being ordered to pay the restitution and an additional fee, Tsarnaev has only paid $2,600 so far.
Tsarnaev was convicted of 30 charges related to the 2013 bombing at the Boston Marathon’s finish line, which resulted in the death of three people and injuries to over 260 others. Seventeen victims lost at least one limb in the attack. Following the bombing, Tsarnaev and his brother led police on a multi-day chase, during which Massachusetts Institute of Technology Police Officer Sean Collier was shot and killed. Tsarnaev’s brother, Tamerlan, also died during the pursuit.
Currently held at Colorado’s ADMAX Florence, known as “The Alcatraz of the Rockies,” Tsarnaev remains in custody while his attorneys work to have his death sentence overturned. Retired warden Bob Hood expressed his disdain for Tsarnaev’s access to thousands of dollars in his prison account, stating that it is offensive for him to have such privileges. Hood emphasized that Tsarnaev came into prison with no money and should continue to be considered as indigent, pointing out the irony that someone like Tsarnaev, who has committed heinous crimes, has any type of following or support.
