Jacques Verges, a French lawyer known for defending the world's most hated criminals in court, passed away at 88, The Washington Post reported.
Verges died of a heart attack in Paris on Aug. 15. According to Reuters, he passed away in a house where Voltaire, an 18th century philosopher, once lived.
His client list included Gestapo chief Klaus Barbie and Venezuelan terrorist Ilich Ramirez Sanchez. The infamous lawyer titled his memoir "The Shining Bastard" and compared himself to fictional characters that "stand alone against the establishment."
While defending Barbie, who was nicknamed the "Butcher of Lyons," he referred to him as "a respectable man" who was "unjustly condemned." As for Sanchez, also known as "Carlos the Jackal," Verges said he saw him as "a man of taste" who "feels at home in a dinner jacket."
Although his career choices infuriated people across the world, he explained to Der Spiegel, a German magazine, in 2008 that he "would have defended Hitler."
"Defending doesn't mean excusing," he said. "A lawyer doesn't judge, doesn't condemn, doesn't acquit. He tries to understand."
Verges rose to international fame when he was hired as an attorney by suspected Algerian terrorists in the 1950s. He would later defend militants in Palestine and members of left-wing terrorist groups in Germany.
The notorious attorney made sure to incorporate drama in the headlines as well as the courtroom. While defending the Algerian terrorists, he claimed they were not subject to French law as they were rebelling against colonial rule. It's said that his courtroom style would be to direct attention to relative historical acts to minimize the severity of their crimes his clients were accused of.
Verges likened himself to Don Juan.
"I love revolutions like he loved women," he said. "I like to go from one to the other, and I like them when they are young. When they get older, I lose interest."
