STORY: "Prosecutors seek stiff sentence for Mass. chemist," published by the Associated Press on October 18, 2013.
GIST: " Prosecutors urged a judge Friday to sentence a Massachusetts chemist to up to seven years in prison if she pleads guilty in a drug-testing lab scandal that jeopardized thousands of criminal convictions and cost the state millions. Annie Dookhan, 35, of Franklin, faces a long list of criminal charges, including tampering with evidence, obstruction of justice and perjury for alleging faking test results at a now-closed state lab. Dookhan's lawyer, Nicolas Gordon, pleaded for leniency, saying Dookhan's only motivation was to be "the hardest-working and most prolific and most productive chemist." Gordon said "this whole mess" began when Dookhan, who failed to follow certain lab procedures in trying to test more samples. When she got caught, she panicked and tried to cover her tracks, Gordon said. He said she never thought her actions would send the state's criminal justice system into a "tailspin," with more than 1,100 criminal drug cases dismissed or not prosecuted because of evidence tainted by Dookhan's alleged actions and other fallout from the closure of the lab. "This is not a woman who ever set out to hurt anyone," Gordon said......... Judge Carol Ball said she wanted to hold the proceeding publicly because the lab scandal has had such a serious impact on the criminal justice system that she felt it was important to resolve the case "with everything being open and up front." Ball told Dookhan's lawyer she found it hard to believe that Dookhan did not foresee the consequences of her actions. She said Dookhan's behavior struck her as a sign of someone with low self-esteem who was trying to look "cool" by pumping up her reputation at work. "This is sad, pathetic behavior, frankly, but the extraordinary damage is just incalculable," Ball said. Ball asked if Dookhan's actions were motivated by a desire to "get these bad guys off the street." Kaczmarek said investigators found no evidence of that......... In an interview with state police, Dookhan acknowledged that she engaged in "dry labbing," when she would assemble a large collection of samples from different cases, test only a few of them, but label all of the samples as positive for illegal drugs. She previously pleaded not guilty to 27 criminal charges. Ball said she will consider the sentencing recommendations made by both sides and decide next week about what sentence she would give Dookhan if she changes her plea to guilty."
The entire story can be found at:
http://www.app.com/usatoday/article/3011741
PUBLISHER'S NOTE:
Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following this case.
I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.
The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.
I look forward to hearing from readers at:
hlevy15@gmail.com;
