Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was shot in the throat and cannot speak

[undeterred]

according to this report; but he was supposedly swearing like a sailor in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.


As of Sunday, the FBI was still unable to interview 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who was injured Friday while on the run from police, Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis told CBS-TV's "Face the Nation" program.

Boston Mayor Tom Menino said authorities don't know if they will ever be able to question Tsarnaev.

http://news.msn.com/us/surviving-boston-marathon-bombing-suspect-awaits-charges

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/21/us-usa-explosions-bombing-menino-idUSBRE93K07K20130421

Another question: The back yard he was found in was less then a mile from the firefight that police had with he and his brother the night before. Yet it was outside the zone of where police searched. Why wasn't it one of the first places police searched???

[OneMoreDemocrat]

1. Makes one wonder who benefits if he can't talk...

and just 'cause he can still type, write, etc., etc., doesn't mean he ever will or that his writings won't get 'deleted' or 'misplaced' somehow.

[FarCenter]

2. It is probably attempted suicide.

[Orrex]

3. It's probably best to conclude outright that there's a nefarious conspiracy and coverup

Wouldn't want to have to wait for such niceties as "facts" or "information" before we jump!

[NealK]

22. Lol!

[Schema Thing]

26. yes, I think that is wise.

[jberryhill]

5. He may also have suffered brain damage from blood loss

If you are shot in the throat, and the carotid artery is damaged, you might survive with immediate attention, but there is going to be a high risk of brain damage.

[undeterred]

11. I didn't even think of that.

[jberryhill]

12. If so, considerable rehab is going to be required

[B2G]

32. He was OK enough to climb out of the boat under his own power

And reports said he was alert and responsive when he arrived at the hospital.

For the mayor to come out this soon and say he may never be able to answer questions is, well...odd.

[MOTRDemocrat]

7. Tinfoil alert. nt

[Codeine]

8. Is there anything in your world that isn't a nefarious conspiracy? nt

[Orrex]

9. Whoa--we both used the phrase "nefarious conspiracy"

I sense a nefarious conspiracy!

[Codeine]

10. Mossad sends me the talking points

and I faithfully parrot them.

[KittyWampus]

24. Kudos. You made me laugh!

[cleduc]

4. Agree. I don't see why he could't write or type answers at some point

if his tongue is too messed up and he's willing.

Heck, he could even squeeze hands for yes/no type answers.

Naturally, he'd have to be in good enough shape medically to do so which may well be questionable at this point with tubes/drugs/wounds reportedly getting in the way.

[jberryhill]

13. Remember Roy Horn of Siegfried and Roy?

If he suffered massive blood loss from the neck, his brain was drained of blood and it may be a long time before he can communicate anything to anyone by any method.

[cleduc]

18. In the photos of the arrest I've seen

?w=753

I don't see a ton of blood loss from the neck/mouth area though the photo is obviously not the greatest. As well, the ambulance photo didn't have them all over his head at the time.

I realize overall from his other wounds, he was weak from blood loss but he was able to get up for that boat photo so it wasn't massive at that point.

Therefore, I have some doubts about brain damage being likely

[bhikkhu]

16. Ah - but that's the brilliant part

his statements can now be written for him, and all he has to do is sign them! Or even better - on the pretext of testing his motor skills or something, he could be signing multiple blank sheets right now, to be filled in later by nefarious types!

[11 Bravo]

35. I'm going to assume you just opted not to use the "sarcasm" smilie. Otherwise ...

with all those voices, how crowded is it inside your head?

[Schema Thing]

27. what if the only hand sign he will give is "fuck you"?

iow, he'd also have to want to communicate.

[cleduc]

28. As I said in my original post

"if he's willing"

That's the whole thing with Miranda often overlooked with Miranda concerns. Whether they give him a Miranda warning or not, it's up to the suspect whether he answers any questions.

In this case, there has to be significant doubt whether he'll say anything anytime soon - even if he's healthy. Whether he wants to trade that for a life sentence or a death sentence, that's probably his only bargaining chip I can think of offhand.

[flamingdem]

6. A guess: they don't yet know if he is brain damaged but the speaking issue

is null. If his brain isn't damaged then he can communicate by writing.

[undeterred]

14. Thats true -

The media have just given two very different pictures: one of someone who is swearing out of control and another of someone who is injured in such a way that they will never be able to speak again.

[flamingdem]

15. It's possible that he cannot speak because of swelling or because he needs surgery

with medical advances I bet he can speak at some point.

As long as he has thumbs he can text and I bet he is very good at that!

[B2G]

33. Or because he's currently intubated and sedated

which he is.

[NotThisTime]

17. Why wasn't it one of the first places searched?

You obviously don't know how dense the housing is it that area, the lots are extraordinarily tight with many double or even triple units additionally.... they knocked on tens of thousands of doors for hours, what more can you ask, he got lucky, one block outside the perimeter.....

It was reported early on he had a gunshot to the neck, whatever surgery they had to do we don't know....

[undeterred]

19. No, I'm not from around there so I don't know.

[randome]

20. Everyone is assuming that he hid there immediately, too.

He may have been somewhere else for most of the search period and then made his way to the boat later.

[Jamastiene]

21. Well, you know what they say when you are looking for something.

You always find it in the last place you look.

My guess is they did not know he was there until someone called and told them he was there, at least, based on reports so far.

[jwirr]

23. He can write and I assume he knows how to use the computer.

[Bad Thoughts]

25. I don't understand this logic

Factoring out that he is a criminal and a terrorist, why can't you communicate with someone who cannot speak? Are the deaf and mute unreachable from the larger society?

[cleduc]

29. The only way is if he's brain damaged super badly

which was not indicated when he stood up in the boat to surrender.

Or if he's since become brain damaged such that he can't recall - his memory is damaged - which is again unlikely given his condition at the time of surrender.

If he was unconscious from blood loss at the time they apprehended him, that might have been a different story.

But he stood up after exchanging gunfire, lifted his shirt, surrendered and they got EMS personnel to promptly bandage him and give him oxygen on his way to the hospital. And when he got there, he was never graded as being in critical condition. He was always graded as being in serious condition. The pics of him don't show massive blood loss. A major blood loss that could affect his brain probably would have had him in critical condition for a while.

And we didn't see an ambulance screaming off to the hospital after his arrest - to stem major blood loss. They casually just cruised with the motorcycle escort to the hospital.

That's some conjecture on my part but it's based upon known facts and visual observations.

The impediment to his speech is probably the reported wound to his tongue & throat and less likely to have something to do with his brain/major blood loss.

[jberryhill]

31. Seems reasonable

I'm not familiar with the details of his condition at the time of apprehension.

After he stood up in the boat, how did they get him out of the boat?

[B2G]

34. He climbed out

See the photo posted above.

[cleduc]

36. I'm not sure

I've just seen still pics of him up and then down on the ground being cuffed and checked out - no video of that part

[cwydro]

30. Of course they can question him.

He can write can't he? I'm sure he can use a computer.

As long as he is not brain dead, I'm quite sure they will find a way to question him.