Defense witnesses described family relationships, adolescent brain development, medical records, school experiences, and custody conduct. Prosecutors questioned the limits of those accounts and the certainty of continued prison restrictions; the judge limited broader prison-condition questioning.
Full day summary
The defense presented testimony about family relationships, brain development, school experiences, custody conduct, and prison restrictions. Before Elmirza Khozhugov testified, the judge limited inflammatory custody-dispute terminology and left bias questioning dependent on his testimony. Khozhugov acknowledged violence against Ailina and described Zubeidat's authority, Tamerlan's account of Misha's religious influence, and Jahar's tendency to follow his older brother. On cross-examination, he acknowledged limited direct contact, reliance on relatives for later information, and greater familiarity with Tamerlan than Jahar.
Brain-development researcher Jay Giedd described active maturation extending to roughly ages 25 to 30, including changes affecting planning and impulse control. He characterized a brain at 19 as still developing, not damaged or defective. He repeatedly limited his conclusions to general patterns, stressing individual variation. On cross-examination, he emphasized behavior over imaging as a measure of maturity and agreed that younger people can plan and understand consequences.
Sonya Petri read Anzor Tsarnaev's treatment records rather than offering observations as a treating clinician. The records described psychiatric symptoms, an August 2009 assault causing a skull fracture and hemorrhage, and later functional impairments. An April 2012 physician's letter stated that he could not work and needed constant supervision and support. Best Buddies advisor Jennifer Callison recalled Jahar's voluntary participation and kindness within the club. Mathematics teacher Eric Traub read his favorable December 2010 recommendation letter and affirmed those assessments. On cross-examination, Traub described classroom self-motivation and maturity relative to a high-school student.
Deputy U.S. Marshal Kevin Michael Roche recalled compliance during medical escorts and an apology after the July 2013 cellblock gesture. On cross-examination, he personally interpreted the gesture as defiant but clarified that he had not witnessed it when it occurred. The judge denied a motion to strike that interpretation.
The judge permitted challenges to the continuation of special administrative measures, or SAMs, while declining immediate rebuttal directed solely at the defense opening. Retired prison official Mark Bezy described restricted, monitored communications and annual SAMs renewals. His opinion that Tsarnaev would remain at ADX if placed there and SAMs later expired was hypothetical, not a placement decision. On cross-examination, he acknowledged that inmates can leave SAMs and H unit, while emphasizing that ADX step-down advancement is not guaranteed. The supplied record ends during an unresolved objection about books and magazines.