AKIPRESS.COM - Federal prosecutors asked lawyers for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to have the suspected Boston Marathon bomber attend his next court hearing and sit through jury selection for his upcoming trial – a proposal that was welcomed by one of the bombing victims.

“I’d like for him to see us, to see what he did to us,” said Marc Fucarile, who lost a leg and suffered other injuries in the bombing, speaking outside the federal courthouse in Boston after a brief hearing in the case Thursday.

“He walked away … if he was a real man, he could have stood there,” Fucarile said. Fucarile’s comments came after lawyers in the case grappled over evidence and other legal motions during an hour-long hearing as they prepare for a possible November trial, reports Boston Globe.

Tsarnaev, now 21, faces the death penalty if found guilty of setting off the bombs that killed three people and injured more than 260 on April 15, 2013. He and his older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, also allegedly shot and killed an MIT police officer before attempting to flee the area. Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed in a violent confrontation with police.

Tsarnaev has not attended any court hearing or made any public appearances since his arraignment on July 10, 2013. He is being held at the federal prison at Fort Devens in Ayer. Assistant US Attorney William Weinreb told US District Court Judge George A. O’Toole Jr. that Tsarnaev should have an opportunity to address the court before his trial, to bring up any concerns he may have with his case or lawyers now, rather than after the trial. Weinreb also said that Tsarnaev should be involved in the jury selection process or should tell the court in person that he is waiving the right to be involved – an issue he could bring up in an appeal.

Defense attorney David Bruck said he would raise the issue with Tsarnaev, though he noted the alleged bomber has the right to skip pre-trial hearings. Weinreb said Tsarnaev should make that declaration to the court.

Bruck and Weinreb sparred for much of the hearing over the sharing and preparation of evidence in the case, an ongoing issue that Bruck says stems from the defense team’s contention that it will not be ready for the Nov. 3 trial date.

Bruck again asked O’Toole to postpone the trial. “I don’t think it will help anyone if this case went to trial before both sides are ready,” Bruck said.

Weinreb argued that the defense team has failed to meet deadlines set by the court because it has been focusing on irrelevant issues, such as Tsarnaev’s relationship with his older brother. He said Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is the only person “named in the indictment.”

“Tamerlan Tsarnaev is not on trial,” Weinreb said. The judge said he would consider the request. He is also reviewing a separate plea to move the trial to a court in another city, distant from the bombing site.

Fucarile has attended recent hearings, knowing Tsarnaev wouldn’t be there. But he said he wanted to be a presence in the courtroom Thursday, specifically as O’Toole considers whether to move the trial to a different city, Fucarile said. “I came up to make sure that the people who are working on the case, and the judge, know that victims do care if it’s moved,” he said. “We want to be here. We’re going to be a part of it.”