Dzhokhar And Tamerlan Tsarnaev Had Very Different Ambulance Rides

It's day three of the defense's case for why Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev should spend his life in prison, not face the death penalty. Wednesday afternoon was the first time the testimony turned to Dzhokhar and away from his older brother, Tamerlan.

The jury heard from paramedics who gave accounts of the vastly different ambulance rides Dzhokhar and his brother, Tamerlan, took after they were captured. Tamerlan screamed and struggled so much that paramedic Michael Sullivan said he and a coworker could not treat him on their way to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, where Tamerlan later died.

Dzhokhar, however, answered questions and followed directions the whole way, raising his voice only when a bandage placed on his wounded leg was uncomfortably tight.

The jury also heard testimony from many of Dzhokhar's teachers, who all remembered him as an amicable and stellar student.

Earlier in the morning, the court heard an account of an FBI interview with a distant cousin of the Tsarnaev's who had several discussions about Islam with Tamerlan during his 2012 trip to Dagestan in Russia.

Jack Lepiarz, WBUR reporter. He tweets @Lepiarz.

WBUR: Live Coverage Of The Trial

Radio Boston: The Brothers Tsarnaev And Radicalization