In the years since I started publishing this Blog I have become
increasingly disturbed by the 'white elephant' in the room: Sheer,
unadulterated, willful misconduct in the criminal justice system -
much of it involving forensic evidence - committed by lab technicians,
pathologists, police officers, prosecutors and others. Think Annie
Dookhan; Think Sonia Farak; Think David Kofoed; Think Charles Smith;
Think Ken Anderson; Think Gene Morrison. I have therefore decided to run this image of a
white elephant at the top of every applicable post henceforth, to draw
our reader's attention to what I see as a major problem in all too
many criminal justice system's - my own included. Harold Levy;
Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;
"Reformers have for years recommended that all forensic labs be
independent from law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies' and this is
a key reform promoted by The Justice Project (2008). But fixing
these problems is only half the answer' because half of the wrongful
convictions attributed to misleading forensic evidence involved
deliberate forensic fraud' evidence tampering' and/or perjury.
From "The Elephant in the Crime Lab," by co-authored by Sheila Berry and Larry Ytuarte; Forensic Examiner; Spring, 2009;
http://www.t-mlaw.com/blog/post/the-elephant-in-the-crime-lab/
Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;
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"John Verner, until this year head of the
Massachusetts Attorney General's Office criminal bureau, had strong
words to describe his feelings about finding out that documents
connected to Sonja Farak's drug addiction had not been turned over to
district attorneys. "I was angry. I was upset. I was shocked. I was frustrated,"
Verner said Thursday about his November 2014 discovery. "I was pissed." He was testifying at a hearing in front of Hampden Superior
Court Judge Richard J. Carey dealing with fallout from Farak's criminal
wrongdoing at the Amherst state drug lab, where she was a state
chemist. Verner said he was "freaking out." He said he would never
have authorized or ordered anyone to intentionally withhold the
documents. "I would never, ever, ever do that ... That's not who I am," Verner said. In January 2014, Farak, then 35, of Northampton, was given
an 18-month jail sentence after pleading guilty to four counts of theft
of a controlled substance from an authorized dispensary (the drug lab),
four counts of tampering with evidence and two counts of possession of
cocaine. Farak began using drugs from the lab as early as 2004,
according to court documents released in May. The Amherst lab was closed
due to her actions. Former
state chemist Sonja Farak pleaded guilty to evidence tampering, drug
thefts and drug possession. Ten defendants are looking for new trials or
to withdraw their guilty pleas because Farak tested drug evidence in
their cases.
Carey has said he wants facts that would show whether the
case charging Farak with evidence tampering was handled properly or
whether state officials intentionally buried evidence that could have
been exculpatory for the defendants. Although testimony has been wide ranging, the focus is
mental health and substance abuse treatment records found in Farak's car
when she was arrested in January 2013 for drug thefts from the lab. The
records included information about her treatment for drug addiction
more than a year before her arrest. Those records came to light in the fall of 2014 after Luke
Ryan, lawyer for some of the drug defendants, was allowed to inspect
evidence in the case. State police and the attorney general's office had
had the records since searching Farak's car shortly after her arrest. State officials repeatedly fought Ryan's request to look at
the evidence. Verner testified his office didn't want anyone going
through evidence before the tampering case against Farak was resolved. Verner, who is now a Suffolk County assistant district
attorney dealing with cold case homicides, said he believed all
information had been turned over to district attorneys so they could
distribute them as discovery to lawyers who were arguing their clients
were affected by Farak's behavior. He said he had seen references in emails and a memo to
mental health records during the prosecution of Farak. He said it would
not be his role to check with individual assistant attorneys general to
see if they turned over all the required material. "They know what they have to do," Verner said."
http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/12/former_state_official_says_he.html
