Expert: ‘Nature’ only one likely to give Bulger death sentence
By Erin Smith
The Boston Herald
Accused serial killer James “Whitey” Bulger, whose federal trial is slated to begin with jury selection Thursday, will likely escape the death penalty if he is convicted on murder charges, according to a capital punishment expert.
Bulger faces federal charges for the murders of 19 men and women, but prosecutors say those homicides occurred between 1973 and 1985 — well before federal prosecutors were given the option of seeking death for criminals, according to David Hoose, a Northampton-based attorney and expert on federal death penalty cases.
“All of the murders that Mr. Bulger is accused of committing precedes the Federal Death Penalty Act of 1994,” Hoose said. “But it seems likely if the government gets a conviction on anything, it’s likely to be a de facto death sentence given his age.”
The federal trial against Bulger, 83, is expected to start June 10 with opening arguments, and testimony may last into the fall.
Bulger could face the death penalty if he is tried and convicted for two murders in out-of-state courts, where capital punishment could be on the table.
“Officially we have not changed our position on the ultimate plan to prosecute Whitey Bulger,” said Ed Griffith, spokesman for the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office.
Authorities say Bulger had a hand in the 1982 murder of John Callahan, who’s body was found stuffed in the trunk of his Cadillac at Miami International Airport. He also allegedly played a role in the murder of Roger Wheeler, who was shot in the face as he left a Tulsa, Okla., country club in 1981.
Tulsa District Attorney Tim Harris said he is waiting until Bulger’s federal trial wraps up before making any decisions on prosecuting him in Oklahoma.
Hoose said he’s not convinced the aging Bulger will face trial in Oklahoma or Florida — especially if the feds get a conviction.
He said, “I don’t know that the district attorney in Tulsa or the state’s attorney in Miami is really going to want to spend the money to bring him there and seek the death penalty when nature is likely to take care of that very soon.”
http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion...death_sentence
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