Attention

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not represent our advertisers

Saturday, November 23, 2013

Chemist Who Falsified Drug Tests In Criminal Cases Goes To Jail Herself

A former state chemist for Massachusetts pleaded guilty Friday to breezing fraudulently through tens of thousands of tests used to prosecute drug-related crimes and then covering up her shortcuts. Annie Dookhan will serve three to five years in prison, and the Massachusetts criminal justice system must now reevaluate thousands of prosecutions that relied on her tests.

fter initially denying the charges, Ms. Dookhan, who was born in Trinidad, raised in Boston, and is now a single mother in her 30s, changed her plea Friday. She pleaded guilty to 27 charges of obstruction of justice, perjury, and tampering with evidence.

Dookhan's actions may have distorted the results of the criminal trials of more than 40,000 individuals, and close to 350 people have already been released from prison as a result, Boston public radio station WBUR reports. The Boston-area Department of Public Health laboratory where she had worked for 10 years was closed in August 2012 after the scandal surfaced, and the Associated Press reports that 1,100 criminal cases have been dismissed or not prosecuted as a result.

More

3 comments:

lmclain said...

In addition to cops perjuring themselves for a conviction, to State's Attorneys winking at trumped up and thin-as-a-whisper evidence, to judges rubberstamping whatever the aforementioned two can come up with, NOW, we have OTHER state workers lying and cheating to put SOMEONE in jail. Anybody. Think of all the promotions given out based on all these convictions. Based on relentless investigations. Tireless pursuit of the truth. Unwavering commitment to justice. All grounded by a respect for what's right. And a whole lot of BS.

Anonymous said...

she's kinda cute, and that's what really matters.....FREE ANNIE D!!, FREE ANNIE D!!, FREE ANNIE D!!:)

Anonymous said...

and now a hundred or so people have been victimized by an off-calibrated blood test machine for DUI. they just make stuff up to sound good and lock someone up