STORY: "Guilty plea expected in Mass. drug lab scandal," published by Asociated Press on November 22, 2013.
GIST: "A chemist at a Massachusetts drug lab who allegedly admitted faking test
results in criminal cases is expected to plead guilty to obstruction of
justice, perjury and tampering with evidence charges in a scandal that
has jeopardized thousands of convictions. Annie Dookhan of Franklin has a change-of-plea hearing scheduled for
Friday in Suffolk Superior Court. She initially pleaded not guilty to a
total of 27 charges. State police shut down the state Department of Public Health lab she
worked at after discovering the extent of Dookhan's alleged misconduct. Prosecutors said Dookhan admitted "dry labbing," or testing only a
fraction of a batch of samples, then listing them all as positive for
illegal drugs, to "improve her productivity and burnish her reputation." Since the lab closed in August 2012, at least 1,100 criminal cases have
been dismissed or not prosecuted because of tainted evidence or other
fallout from the lab's closing. Prosecutors from state Attorney General Martha Coakley's office
recommended a sentence of up to seven years in prison, while Dookhan's
lawyer recommended a sentence of no more than a year. Judge Carol Ball said in a written memo that she would impose a sentence
of no more than three to five years if Dookhan decided to change her
plea to guilty."
The entire story can be found at:
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/guilty-plea-expected-mass-drug-lab-scandal-20975656
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
