Some people still remember to honor the old ways, as reported by the Boston Globe:
James “Whitey” Bulger showed no mercy to the people he tortured and killed. He refused to get on his knees when captured after more than a decade on the run because he didn’t want to get his pants dirty. And he swore at witnesses during his trial.
Now, as the imprisoned 85-year-old gangster faces the end of his life, his unwavering defiance has seemingly been replaced by regret, and even a little remorse. At least that’s what he told three local high school girls.
“My life was wasted and spent foolishly, brought shame + suffering on my parents and siblings and will end soon,” Bulger wrote in a Feb. 24 letter sent from a federal penitentiary in Sumterville, Fla.
“Advice is a cheap commodity some seek it from me about crime — I know only one thing for sure — If you want to make crime pay — ‘Go to Law School.’ ”…
The unprecedented confession letter from the former South Boston crime boss — whose taxpayer-funded defense topped $3 million — was sent not to a priest or the relatives of any of the 11 people he killed, but to several 17-year-old juniors at Apponequet Regional High School in Lakeville.
The students created a website about Bulger for a National History Day competition on leadership and legacy and wrote to the octogenarian last February, seeking his opinion on his own legacy…
Tainsh and her classmates, Michaela Arguin and Mollykate Rodenbush, said they chose Bulger for their project because he was a leader — albeit a brutal organized crime leader — and they wanted to do something unconventional that would set them apart from others in the competition who chose heroes and presidents…
In his letter to the students, Bulger, who reportedly prides himself on being patriotic, suggested that instead of focusing on him, the girls should create a website for wounded American servicemen: “good men isolated from society due to war wounds — life for some in pain and loneliness — hearing from school girls that care would do wonders for their morale + recovery.
“Don’t waste your time on such as I — we are society’s lower, best forgotten, not looked to for advice on ‘Leadership,’” Bulger wrote…
The girls’ website on Bulger took first place in the district competition, but failed to place at the state competition, where a website about journalist Nellie Bly came in first.
However, they won two special awards, one for best use of primary sources and the other for best project on Massachusetts history….