Whitey Bulger’s Lawyers Formally Appealed His Conviction

Associated Press

Here comes the Whitey Bulger appeal his lawyers promised. Attorneys  J.W. Carney Jr. and Hank Brennan filed a one-sentence notice of appeal in federal court Wednesday, reports the Associated Press.

Attorneys have indicated that Bulger believed his trial was a “sham” because Judge Denise Casper refused to allow him to present an immunity defense. Bugler has claimed he received immunity for his crimes decades ago from federal prosecutor Jeremiah T. O’Sullivan. Casper ruled that he presented no evidence to support that claim, and even if he had, O’Sullivan wasn’t in a position to grant that kind of immunity.

But Bulger has hung onto this as the legal basis for disdaining the current legal proceedings. A jury convicted him in August of a federal racketeering charge that included 11 murders. Last week, Casper gave him to two life sentences. Bulger refused to testify at his trial or his sentencing hearing, where he also made a point of avoiding eye contact with family members of victims. It hasn’t been for lack of opinions, though. That’s for sure.