NYT: Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has garnered fans that donate money, send messages of support

John Moore/Getty Images

NYT: Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has garnered fans that donate money, send messages of support
(Image credit: John Moore/Getty Images)

One year ago today, two bombs exploded at the Boston Marathon finish line, killing three and injuring 260. A massive manhunt led to the capture of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who allegedly plotted the deadly day with his brother Tamerlan. While Tamerlan was killed in a shootout during the manhunt, Dzhokhar remains locked up in a Massachusetts prison awaiting his November trial.

The New York Times has an interesting piece about the surviving suspect Dzhokhar's life of isolation. He can't talk to others or pray, and the only visitors he regularly receives at the Massachusetts prison are from his legal team or health consultants. He spends most of his day doing nothing. He can't watch television or listen to the radio, and eats a steady diet of chicken and rice.

Although communication with his immediate family happens infrequently, Dzhokhar has garnered his share of supporters who have deposited $1,000 in a bank account created on his behalf.

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Crystel Clary, a 35-year-old single mother, is one of those so-called fans. She has written him nearly a dozen times since last April's bombing with messages "offering moral support and news tidbits about such things as Eminem's latest album and new movies." Tsarnaev has never written back, but she still holds out hope that his innocence will be proved.

"You can tell he didn't do it," she said told the Times. "There is too much suspicious stuff going on in this case." Read the rest at The New York Times.

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Jordan Valinsky is the lead writer for Speed Reads. Before joining The Week, he wrote for New York Observer's tech blog, Betabeat, and tracked the intersection between popular culture and the internet for The Daily Dot. He graduated with a degree in online journalism from Ohio University.