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Florida Prosectors Ask Court To Reinstate Ex-FBI Agent Connolly’s Conviction

The disgraced FBI handler of Boston mobster James "Whitey" Bulger, whose murder conviction was overturned by a Florida appeals court last month, will not be going free, at least for the time being.

John Connolly, after his conviction in Miami in 2008 (AP)
John Connolly, after his conviction in Miami in 2008 (AP)

The Florida Attorney General on Thursday asked the court to reconsider its decision to toss the murder conviction and prison sentence for former Boston FBI agent John Connolly.

Two weeks ago, a three judge appeals court panel vacated Connolly's 2008 conviction, ruling that the judge committed an error by allowing jurors to consider the charge of "second degree murder with a firearm."

At the time of the Florida murder, Connolly was still working for the FBI and carrying a government issue weapon. But he was in Boston, 1,500 miles away from the crime scene and his gun had nothing to do with the killing.

The court called the prosecution’s argument “pure sophistry.”

Connolly will remain in prison at least until the court decides whether to grant prosecutors' request for a hearing on the decision.

This article was originally published on June 12, 2014.

Headshot of David Boeri

David Boeri Senior Reporter
Now retired, David Boeri was a senior reporter at WBUR.

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