Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul says he believes the federal justice system is ‘‘fully capable of prosecuting’’ a 19-year-old man suspected of detonating deadly bombs at the Boston Marathon.
The Obama administration has indicated it plans to build a criminal case against Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who remains in serious condition in a hospital.
Some of Paul’s congressional Republican colleagues have said Tsarnaev’s rights should be more restricted than the administration intends.
Paul said after an appearance at a Louisville power plant Monday that he hopes Tsarnaev is ‘‘prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and I hope he’s ashamed and (is) punished for killing innocents.’’
The most serious charge available to prosecutors would be the use of a weapon of mass destruction to kill, which carries a possible death sentence.