Marathon Bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's Death Penalty Appeal Comes Due

BOSTON, MA — An argument to spare the life of surviving Boston Marathon Bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is due to a federal appeals court within two months, according to multiple reports Monday.

Tsarnaev was sentenced to the death penalty in summer of 2015 for his role in the 2013 bombings that killed three people and injured 250 more. He also killed a police officer in the ensuing manhunt. The jury's unanimous decision followed 14 hours of deliberation.

His legal team now hopes to appeal that decision.

A federal appeals court wants to receive the initial write-up from Tsarnaev's team by Oct. 3, multiple outlets reported Monday afternoon.

Tsarnaev’s lawyers during the 2015 trial admitted he took part in the bombings but argued he should be spared the death penalty because he was under the spell of his older brother, Tamerlan, who was killed in a shootout with police.

A judge in January rejected his legal team's request for a new trial, leaving them mired in what will likely be a lengthy appeals process.

Tsarnaev, now 23, is being held at a maximum security federal prison in Colorado.

>> Image via Security camera of federal courthouse / United States Marshals Service, public domain

Patch has corrected this article to reflect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's correct age.