Boston bombing suspect pleads not guilty

BOSTON -- His arm in a cast and his face swollen, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev pleaded not guilty yesterday in the Boston Marathon bombing in a seven-minute proceeding that was his first public appearance since his capture in mid-April.

As victims of the bombing looked on, Tsarnaev, 19, gave a small, lopsided smile to his sisters as he was led into the courtroom. He had an apparent jaw injury and swelling around his left eye and cheek.

After he leaned in toward a microphone and said, "Not guilty" in a Russian accent over and over, he was led back out in handcuffs. He made a kissing gesture toward his family and a sister sobbed loudly, resting her head on a woman seated next to her.

Tsarnaev faces 30 federal charges, including using a weapon of mass destruction to kill, and could get the death penalty if prosecutors choose to pursue it and he is convicted.

His lawyer Judy Clarke, an expert in death penalty cases, asked that the judge enter not-guilty pleas for him, but U.S. Magistrate Judge Marianne Bowler said: "I would ask him to answer." Tsarnaev is also charged in the killing of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer and the carjacking of a motorist during a getaway attempt.

The heavily guarded courtroom was packed not only with victims but their families, police officers, members of the public and the media.

Tsarnaev looked much as he did in a photo widely circulated after his arrest, his hair curly and unkempt. He appeared nonchalant, almost bored during the hearing. A cast covered his left forearm, hand and fingers.

The bombing victims showed little reaction in the courtroom after a federal marshal warned them against outbursts.

The April 15 attack killed three people and wounded more than 260. Authorities say Tsarnaev orchestrated the bombing along with his older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who died after a gun battle with police and a furious getaway attempt three days after the attack.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was arrested on April 19, captured hiding in a bloodstained boat in a suburban backyard after a huge manhunt that paralyzed much of the Boston area.