海角大神

Lawyers for the infamous Boston mob boss James 鈥淲hitey鈥� Bulger filed an appeal Thursday to overturn the sweeping 2013 conviction on charges linking him to 11 murders in the 1970s and '80s.

Mr. Bulger鈥檚 attorneys argued that the US district judge presiding over the case violated the defendant鈥檚 constitutional rights by refusing to allow him to testify that a now-deceased federal prosecutor, Jeremiah O鈥橲ullivan, had verbally granted him lifetime immunity in exchange for information about the rival New England mafia.

鈥淭hat ruling constitutionally deprived Mr. Bulger of his right to present an effective defense to the government鈥檚 indictments, respond to the issues 鈥� and stripped him of his right to testify about how he was able to avoid prosecution for almost twenty-five years,鈥� the lawyers wrote.

Judge Denise Casper barred any reference to that claim of immunity prior to the start of the trial and maintained that Mr. O鈥橲ullivan never had the authority to grant such immunity.

Lawyers Henry Brennan and James Budreau further charged that the judge prevented them from raising doubts about the testimony of three key witnesses who had been granted plea deals in exchange for testifying against Bulger.

鈥淚f Mr. Bulger had been permitted to testify about his immunity defense in his own words, then the jury would have the opportunity to weigh his credibility with that of the government鈥檚 witnesses.鈥� His testimony alone could have made the difference in the verdict,鈥� the attorneys wrote.

Jurors found Bulger guilty of 31 of 32 counts including racketeering, money laundering, extortion, and firearms violations, in addition to the murders of 11 people. Sentenced in August 2013, he is currently serving two consecutive life sentences plus five years for those crimes at a federal penitentiary in Tucson.

Bulger terrorized South Boston from the helm of the 鈥淲inter Hill鈥� crime gang for decades before fleeing the area in 1994, after a corrupt FBI agent tipped him off to an impending arrest. He and his girlfriend, Catherine Grieg, spent 16 years on the lam before authorities captured them in Santa Monica, Calif., in 2011.

鈥淭he scope of the callousness, the depravity of the crimes is almost unfathomable,鈥� Judge Casper said during sentencing in November, the Monitor reported. 鈥淭he testimony of human suffering you and your associates inflicted on others ... was agonizing to hear and painful to watch.鈥澛犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅犅�

Whitey Bulger鈥檚 story inspired the 2006 Martin Scorsese film, 鈥淭he Departed,鈥� and a forthcoming biopic 鈥淏lack Mass,鈥� starring Johnny Depp and slated for release in September 2015.

This report includes material from the Associated press and Reuters.