Annie Dookhan: Boston Globe backs American Civil Liberties Union proposal to require a "blanket solution" for clearing up "the tragic mess left behind by the former state chemist Annie Dookhan in which "The burden should rest on the government, not the defendants, to make it right."

EDITORIAL: "Tainted Dookhan drug  cases require  blanket solution," published by the Boston Globe, on March 3, 2014.

GIST: "The full dimensions of the  tragic mess left behind by the former state chemist Annie Dookhan, who is serving time in prison for tampering with drug evidence, finally became apparent this week. Just as clear is the proper legal remedy: Thousands of convictions of people who pleaded guilty when confronted with Dookhan’s tainted evidence must be overturned......Specifically, the ACLU is petitioning the state’s highest court to provide prosecutors with just a 90-day window to decide which drug cases they want to re-litigate from among the 40,000 that may have been corrupted by Dookhan. Failing to meet that bar, the convictions would be overturned automatically. The time frame may be too tight. But the basic approach is sound.  The court and inspector general made clear that the disgraceful actions of Dookhan and the incompetent management practices at the state lab were responsible for this massive breakdown in the criminal justice system. The burden should rest on the government, not the defendants, to make it right."

The entire editorial can be found at:

http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/1969/12/12/tainted-dookhan-drug-cases-require-blanket-solution/bNa6IVSAJeeK4tF2cFUuOL/story.html

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/charlessmith

Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
 
http://smithforensic.blogspot.ca/2013/12/the-charles-smith-award-presented-to_28.html
 
I look forward to hearing from readers at:

hlevy15@gmail.com.

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;