Closing Arguments Underway in Bulger Trial
Posted: Tuesday, August 6th, 2013 at 11:34 am
The massive Bulger trial is finally coming to a close after two months of testimony from over seventy witnesses. James “Whitney” Bulger has pleaded not guilty to a total 32 counts of indictment, which included 19 murders, money laundering, weapon offenses and other crimes. The majority of Bulger’s crimes were committed while leading the Winter Hill Gang in the 1970s and 1980s. After years on the run, he was finally caught while hiding with his girlfriend in Santa Monica, CA in 2011. His girlfriend has also been charged with crimes related to assisting Bulger in escaping and staying hidden. She pleaded guilty to her charges.
Closing arguments are expected to be quite an ordeal for the Bulger trial. Judge Denise Casper has allotted each party a total of 3 hours and 15 minutes for closing arguments. This time is split into 2 hours and 45 minutes for actual statements and an additional 30 minutes for rebuttal. The judge has warned both lawyers, however, that the jury may have difficulty sustaining its focus for that long.
The amount of information that must be summarized in closing arguments for this case is truly colossal. Prosecutor Fred Wyshak is already quoted as saying that Bulger is “one of the most vicious, violent and calculating criminals ever to walk the streets of Boston.”
The greatest difficulty with the prosecution’s statements rests with convincing jurors of the validity of three key witnesses, and it will be no easy task. Each witness is a former gang member-turned-informant. Each witness has admitted to committing numerous crimes of their own, including murder. Each agreed to testify on a deal of leniency from the prosecution. Will jurors believe the testimony of three men who turned on their own companions only in order to get reduced sentences? Only time will tell.
Bulger is being defended by attorneys J.W. Carney Jr. and Hank Brennan who will split the closing arguments between them. They have focused their defense efforts on rebutting the statements of witnesses who claimed that Bulger was a longtime FBI informant who ratted on his own gang and those in a rival mafia organization. They have also rebutted witnesses who testify that Bulger strangled two women.
Jurors are expected to begin deliberations on Tuesday.
The massive Bulger trial is finally coming to a close after two months of testimony from over seventy witnesses. James “Whitney” Bulger has pleaded not guilty to a total 32 counts of indictment, which included 19 murders, money laundering, weapon offenses and other crimes. The majority of Bulger’s crimes were committed while leading the Winter Hill Gang in the 1970s and 1980s. After years on the run, he was finally caught while hiding with his girlfriend in Santa Monica, CA in 2011. His girlfriend has also been charged with crimes related to assisting Bulger in escaping and staying hidden. She pleaded guilty to her charges.
Closing arguments are expected to be quite an ordeal for the Bulger trial. Judge Denise Casper has allotted each party a total of 3 hours and 15 minutes for closing arguments. This time is split into 2 hours and 45 minutes for actual statements and an additional 30 minutes for rebuttal. The judge has warned both lawyers, however, that the jury may have difficulty sustaining its focus for that long.
The amount of information that must be summarized in closing arguments for this case is truly colossal. Prosecutor Fred Wyshak is already quoted as saying that Bulger is “one of the most vicious, violent and calculating criminals ever to walk the streets of Boston.”
The greatest difficulty with the prosecution’s statements rests with convincing jurors of the validity of three key witnesses, and it will be no easy task. Each witness is a former gang member-turned-informant. Each witness has admitted to committing numerous crimes of their own, including murder. Each agreed to testify on a deal of leniency from the prosecution. Will jurors believe the testimony of three men who turned on their own companions only in order to get reduced sentences? Only time will tell.
Bulger is being defended by attorneys J.W. Carney Jr. and Hank Brennan who will split the closing arguments between them. They have focused their defense efforts on rebutting the statements of witnesses who claimed that Bulger was a longtime FBI informant who ratted on his own gang and those in a rival mafia organization. They have also rebutted witnesses who testify that Bulger strangled two women.
Jurors are expected to begin deliberations on Tuesday.
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