The possibility of was raised by Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz, who told the website Newsmax that it would be difficult to hold the trial in Boston.
Could the trial of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev be held in Springfield?
That possibility was raised by Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz, who told the website Newsmax that it would be difficult to hold the trial in Boston.
“I think he would get as fair a trial as possible under the circumstances,” Dershowitz told Newsmax. “When you commit horribly heinous offenses you’re only entitled to the fairest trial that your alleged offenses justify."
Springfield hosts at U.S. District Court at the federal building on State Street.
The White House announced today that Tsarnaev will not be tried as an enemy combatant in a military tribunal.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said Tsarnaev will be prosecuted in the federal court system.
Tsarnaev is a naturalized U.S. citizen. Carney says that under U.S. law U.S. citizens cannot be tried in military commissions. Carney says that since Sept. 11, 2001, the federal court system has been used to convict and incarcerate hundreds of terrorists.
U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, said Monday it was premature to speculate on whether the trial would be transferred out of Boston to Springfield.
The decision would be made by the U.S. Justice Department, he said.
“Springfield could handle it, but nobody knows at this point” how the case will be prosecuted or where, Neal said.
Material from Newsmax and the Associated Press was included in this article