BOSTON, May 18 (UPI) — A federal magistrate in Boston declined a request by lawyers for accused Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to take photographs of their client.
Tsarnaev’s attorneys had sought permission to take “current and periodic” pictures of him and not be obligated to turn them over to U.S. prosecutors. Magistrate Marianne Bowler said in a written order Friday Tsarnaev’s defense team had not proven such images are subject to attorney-client privilege.
Bowler said taking photos inside a prison could compromise the security of the facility.
The defense motion stated Tsarnaev’s lawyers want to document his “evolving mental and physical state” while he awaits trial on charges he and his brother, Tamerlan, planted two bombs at the finish line of the Boston Marathon last month, causing three deaths and more than 270 injuries.
Bowler wrote the defense could have prison staff take pictures of Tsarnaev, 19, but federal prosecutors would be allowed to see them.
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