James ‘Whitey’ Bulger had been convicted on 31 counts year that is last including fees related to his involvement in 11 murders. That was enough to make the former mastermind that is criminal FBI informant two consecutive life terms in prison and a cell at the United States Penitentiary in Tucson, Arizona.

But if anyone thought that Bulger was going down with no fight, he’s going to show them to be incorrect.

Solicitors for Bulger are asking a federal appeals court to overturn their conviction for playing those 11 murders, arguing that the judge in case ‘constitutionally deprived Mr. Bulger of his right to provide an effective defense.’

That argument is presented in a filing that is 201-page was sent to the united states Court of Appeals for the First Circuit by lawyers Hank Brennan and James Budreau.

Bulger Wanted to Testify

According to lawyers, Bulger wanted to take the stand in their defense that is own during trial. However, US District Judge Denise Casper had banned Bulger from telling the jury that he had been promised immunity from all crimes by a now-dead federal prosecutor.

‘The court ruled that the defense could perhaps not raise the immunity defense at trial in just about any form, including the defendant’s own testimony at test,’ Bulger’s legal team composed. ‘This error effected the fundamental fairness of Mr. Bulger’s trial and his convictions should be automatically reversed as a result.’

Bulger, who is now 84 years old, planned to inform jurors that prosecutor Jeremiah T. O’Sullivan had promised him immunity that is complete exchange for Bulger’s vow to guard ‘his life.’ But Judge Casper would not enable that defense, stating that Bulger had no documentation to support his claims, and that even in the event such an agreement had taken spot, O’Sullivan had no authority to offer this kind of promise.

The protection in turn argued that as the head of the brand New England Organized Crime Strike Force, O’Sullivan could indeed make such a deal.

Without the ability to bring up this defense, solicitors say that Bulger ended up being left with no explanation to testify in his own defense at last summer time’s trial.

Prosecutors Dispute Claims

Prosecutors, however, tell a different sort of tale about exactly what occurred at the trial that is sensational. According to assistant that is former attorney Brian T. Kelly, several judges had offered Bulger the chance to provide a resistance defense before the trial itself, but he had made the tactical decision to decline that opportunity.

‘no license was had by him to kill or other immunity agreement, and he repeatedly failed to simply take the chance to present it,’ Kelly said.

Instead, prosecutors claim, Bulger likely didn’t take the stand to prevent a cross-examination in which he’d experienced to answer questions that are endless his roles in crimes, such as the 19 murders he had been accused of participating in.

Ultimately, the jury discovered that Bulger participated in 11 murders, while finding that prosecutors had failed to provide enough evidence to convict him on seven other people. On the final count, which involved the murder of Debra Davis in 1981, the jury was not able to achieve a verdict.

Bulger’s attorneys defended their client by attempting to refute much of what appeared in Bulger’s FBI informant file, which alleged he served as an informant from 1975 to 1990. In their appeal, the lawyers say that Bulger desired to testify to ‘the systemic corruption that existed into the federal government during the 1970s through 1990s while the governmental and institutional motivations that led Jeremiah O’Sullivan as well as the Strike Force to provide immunity to James Bulger.’