To some extent, it would appear that the debates over whether or not Dzhokhar Tsarnaev should have been read his Miranda rights immediately upon arrest are academic since he’s apparently in no medical condition to communicate at the moment:
Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick told reporters the suspected Boston Marathon bomber captured Friday night was in “serious but stable” condition in an impromptu interview outside Fenway Park on Saturday.
“I think not … able to communicate yet,” Patrick said of 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, found hiding inside a covered boat in a Watertown backyard Friday night after a house-to-house manhunt across 20 nearby blocks of the Boston suburb.
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Patrick would not comment on theories law enforcement officers may have regarding the brothers’ intentions for additional explosive devices found during the investigation.
“I, and I think all of the law enforcement professionals, are hoping for a host of reasons that the suspect survives, because we have a million questions, and those questions need to be answered,” Patrick said. “There are parts of the investigation, in terms of information and evidence, that still needs to be run to ground.”
Part of Tsarnaev’s medical condition may be due to injuries discovered when he was captured that could be an indication that he had attempted to kill himself, likely at some point after escaping from police early Friday morning:
BOSTON (CBS) — Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the Boston Marathon bombings suspect captured alive Friday, may have tried to commit suicide before he was apprehended, according to CBS News.
Tsarnaev suffered at least two bullet wounds — including one to his neck — before he was arrested in Watertown, CBS News security analyst John Miller said Saturday night.
The bullet wound to the neck, which has an exit wound in the back of the 19-year-old’s neck, “is very possibly a suicide attempt,” said Miller, a former assistant director at the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Miller also said the neck wound is the primary reason why Tsarnaev is unable to speak with investigators
Other reports indicate that Tsarnaev also has tongue damage, which may indicate he tried to shoot himself in the mouth and failed. In any case, his current medical condition means that any questioning, along with immediate legal proceedings will have to be put on hold until his is in a condition to be able to understand what’s happening and to communicate, even if by alternative means.
