Allison Burroughs, a member of the Government Investigations and White Collar Defense practice group and a former U.S. prosecutor, appeared on WBUR’s "Morning Edition" radio broadcast to discuss James “Whitey” Bulger’s immunity claim. Allison discussed the recent move by Bulger’s defense team to have the 19 murder charges against him dismissed, claiming that years ago Bulger was promised immunity when he became an FBI informant.
“I read over the papers in this case and [Bulger lawyer J.W.] Carney doesn’t suggest or state that there’s a written immunity agreement, so he’s talking about an oral agreement, I would think,” said Allison. “Immunity agreements are almost always in writing. They generally only cover crimes that the defendant or criminal has disclosed to the government. They’re never prospective in nature, which this one would have to be given the date of the alleged immunity agreement and when the murders were committed. And there’s almost always a carve-out for violence in immunity agreements. So I am skeptical that there’s an agreement that says what he claims it will say.”
To listen to the radio broadcast, click here.