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By late January the U.S. government will decide if they will seek the death penalty for accused Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev if he is convicted in one of the largest attacks on U.S. soil since September 11, 2001, reported Reuters.

The article, titled “Accused Boston Bomber to Learn by Late January if U.S. Will Seek Death,” said that federal prosecutors are expected to pass on their recommendation to the Justice Department in Washington on whether to seek the death penalty by the end of October.

Shareholder and defense attorney at Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney Barry I. Slotnick told the publication that jurors are supposed to consider guilt and sentencing as separate matters, but the knowledge that prosecutors are intending to seek the death penalty may raise the stakes in the jury’s eyes.

“If they are aware of the fact that the prosecution is going to ask for the death penalty, the jury may determine that there is a greater burden on the part of the prosecution to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt,” Slotnick told Reuters.

The Reuters article was published by other media outlets including: money.MSN.com and GMAnetwork.com.

Read the full Reuters article – “Accused Boston Bomber to Learn by Late January if U.S. Will Seek Death” (Reuters, September 23, 2013)