Judge considers range of victims for Bulger sentencing G. Jeffrey MacDonald, Special for USA Prosecution asked judge to allow victim statements even for murders of which he was not convicted Bulger was found guilty of 11 murders and 31 racketeering charges Bulgers sentencing hearing is Wednesday in federal court SHARE 85 CONNECT 57 TWEET 9 COMMENTEMAILMORE BOSTON — When a jury in August found Boston Mob boss James Whitey Bulger guilty of 11 murders and 31 racketeering counts, the verdict left eight families hungering for more justice. Their loved ones deaths, the jury found, couldnt be tied to Bulger. Now, with Bulgers sentencing hearing coming up in federal court Wednesday, these frustrated survivors might get the last word. Prosecutors hope at least some of them will get to tell the court how Bulger victimized them. That prospect, however, has at least one juror crying foul, defense attorneys pushing back and legal experts warning that such an uncommon procedure could backfire by strengthening Bulgers grounds for appeal. Judge Denise Casper is considering a prosecution request to permit all victims to give impact statements at the upcoming hearing. It is beyond dispute that the criminal enterprise was responsible for the murder of all the victims specified in the indictment, says an Oct. 11 prosecution filing with the court. Family members of the murder victims clearly have a right to be heard at Bulgers sentencing. Bulgers attorneys have fired back, urging the court to reject the United States Attorneys Offices invitation to disrupt the findings of the jury. Meanwhile, Bulger trial juror Janet Uhlar has asked the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee to investigate what she calls a threat to U.S. jurisprudence. The verdict we carefully, dutifully, and painfully deliberated is being mocked by the U.S. Attorneys Office, Uhlar said in an e-mail to USA TODAY. If all are permitted to speak despite the jurys findings, she said, U.S. jurisprudence will be dealt a fatal blow. Legal experts say Casper has discretion to permit a narrow or wide range of impact statements. They add that no matter whos permitted to speak, 84-year-old Bulger is all but certain to spend the rest of his days in prison. Prosecutors are asking for two consecutive life sentences, plus five years, in accordance with sentencing guidelines. Boston This undated file photo shows James Whitey Bulger in Boston.(Photo: AP) To allow victim impact statements from those not linked to the defendants crimes would be extremely rare, according to Michael Coyne, associate dean of Massachusetts School of Law in Andover. Hes never seen a case when it was permitted, he said, adding that it could cast aspersions on the sentence. The appeals court could end up sending it back to her for having made a mistake, Coyne said, if the higher court finds the sentencing hearing was improperly managed. But Casper might be weighing competing factors, according to David Frank, editor of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, a newspaper that covers legal affairs in the commonwealth. Among the possible concerns: Be sure no one who might count as a Bulger victim in this super-complex racketeering case is denied an opportunity to speak. By law, victims of crime have an absolute right to address the court before sentencing, Frank said. The judge has a difficult decision to make as she considers, in light of conspiracy and other racketeering findings, how to define who is and who isnt a Bulger victim. If the prosecution prevails, the governments image might get a boost among those who were hurt, especially during the 1970s and 80s by Bulgers Winter Hill Gang, Coyne said. Such victims have long resented how the government did little to bring the gangsters to justice, instead taking bribes and agreeing to generous deals with Bulger associates. Yet the price paid for such an open forum could include an impression that the court is being used for more than justice. It would reduce the sentencing hearing, to large extent, to a circus, said Robert Bloom, a criminal procedure expert at Boston College Law School. It has absolutely no meaning other than some sort of cathartic relief for some of the victims.
Posted on: Wed, 13 Nov 2013 14:58:39 +0000
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