A dying bank robber, now serving the last 24 months of a 16-year prison sentence, may not fully understand the scope of the pro bono effort that’s been organized to help him. But the state’s largest law firm is embroiled in an 11th-hour plea to secure his release.

Bernard Mulka, 51, has been weakened from rectal cancer to the point that he is unable to walk on his own. His sister, Lynn Atkinson, wants her brother to have the dignity of dying at home.