Lawyers for Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on Wednesday asked a judge to bar prosecutors from arguing that his alleged decision to target the historic footrace is one of the factors a jury should consider when weighing whether he should be sentenced to death.
In a court filing, Tsarnaev's lawyers argued that listing the decision to bomb the marathon as an "aggravating factor" is duplicative because prosecutors also allege that Tsarnaev committed the offense after substantial planning to cause death and commit an act of terrorism.
His lawyers also filed a separate motion asking the judge to declare the federal death penalty unconstitutional.
Tsarnaev awaits trial in the April 15, 2013, bombing. Prosecutors allege he and his late brother, Tamerlan, planted two bombs near the finish line, killing three people and injuring more than 260.
