Whitey Bulger: Jury Asks ‘Must We Be Unanimous?’; Conviction In Doubt

Jurors in the trial of James “Whitey” Bulger,83, had not reached a verdict after two days of discussions.

Bulger’s lawyers met with the judge and jury and asked a series of legal questions about the basis of the case against the reputed crime boss.

They started the day by asking Judge Denise Casper for clarification about aiding and abetting,for assisting in the commission of a crime. They also sought clarification of the statute of limitations for the crimes Bulger is charged with.

The judge told them that this issue was irrelevant because all of the charges were filed on time under the racketeering statute.

At midday the prosecutors and Bulger’s lawyers were called into the courtroom. They spoke again with the judge and held heated discussions during four sidebars.

No explanation was forthcoming about the discussions and no one would comment on the the content.The jury was absent during the talks.

Prosecutor Brian Kelly told the relatives of Bulger’s victims, “Now we wait.”

Whitey Bulger is charged with taking part in 19 killings during the 1970s and 1980s. He was one of the nation’s most wanted fugitives after fleeing Boston in 1994. He was finally captured in Santa Monica in 2011.

Bulger is accused of 33 separate acts of racketeering and murder. He faces additional counts of extortion, money-laundering and weapons charges.

The jury only needs to find that he committed at least two of the 33 racketeering acts within 10 years of each other to find him guilty of the racketeering charge.

Towards the end of the day, the jury asked the judge whether they had to be unanimous if they found that prosecutors had not proven Bulger committed certain acts.

Judge Casper said she would send a note to the jurors indicating that if they cannot come to a unanimous decision on a particular racketeering act, they should make no finding on that act and move on.

She also said she would re-confirm that they only need to find that prosecutors have proven two of the 33 acts in order to find Bulger guilty of racketeering.

The jury will resume their considerations on Thursday. Maybe Whitey Bulger will know his fate then.