Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Government Chemist Tampered With 40,000 Cases, Locking Countless Innocent Americans in Prison


Dookhan_Drug_Suspensions

OFF THE WIRE

UPDATE 1/3/16 – Multiple Victims Don’t Know They Were Affected by the Fake Lab Results
Years after government chemist Annie Dookhan faked evidence against thousands of Americans, there is still a long trail of lives she destroyed, and the government is evidently not cleaning up the mess.
Disturbingly, there are still numerous innocent people locked in prison, and they might not have any idea that it was Annie Dookhan who brought about the horrible fate they now face, day after day, year after year, stuck there with no hope of getting out.

Imagine being locked in a cell and knowing you’re innocent. Imagine how you’d feel as you watch the prime years of your life taken away from you — all because of a vicious government chemist, along with the low-IQ cops who willingly enforce the corrupt “war on drugs.”

There might be thousands of Americans in precisely this situation right now, and they have no idea what Dookhan actually did.
The Boston Globe reports as follows:
Incredibly, more than four years after Dookhan’s crimes were first uncovered, this simple question of justice remains unresolved. Thousands of those whose lives were affected haven’t been notified of their rights, including the possibility of a new trial. Many still have no idea they are Dookhan defendants.
The mess isn’t even close to being cleaned up. And what a mess it is.
MASSACHUSETTS — In a maddening scandal that is rocking the state of Massachusetts, a government crime lab chemist has been caught intentionally forging signatures and tampering with evidence in as many as 40,000 cases, destroying the lives of countless innocent Americans.
Annie Dookhan worked as a chemist for the State of Massachusetts, and it turns out she had close relations with prosecutors.
These prosecutors were able to successfully convict innocent Americans because Dookhan would chemically taint the “evidence,” resulting in career boosts for the prosecutors while innocent men and women were torn from their families and locked in cells.
Prosecutors praised Dookhan’s work and depended on her to get the convictions they wanted, according to reports.



Hundreds of “convicts” and defendents have already been released, and there are potentially thousands more waiting to be set free.

Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey is reviewing thousands of files to determine which cases must be thrown out or retried because of potentially tainted evidence. | Source: Tovia Smith/NPR
Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey is reviewing thousands of files to determine which cases must be thrown out or retried because of potentially tainted evidence. | Source: Tovia Smith/NPR
Dookhan used her position to forge results for nearly a decade.  “I don’t think anyone ever perceived that one person was capable of causing this much chaos,” said Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey.
“You can see the entire walls full of boxes… in one of these cardboard boxes, there could be hundreds of cases … in each box,” said Morrissey.
Hundreds of defendants and “convicts” had been arguing that they were framed and claiming that the evidence used to convict them was mishandled. They were right.

In one recent case, a man was charged with “selling cocaine and heroin.”  His public defender, Julieann Hernon, believes that this man was a potential victim of Dookhan’s fake evidence and ought to be released.