| STORY: "Lawyer: Notify all Dracut defendants of evidence audit," by
reporter Todd Feathers, published by The Lowell Sun on July 14, 2017. GIST: "One of the state's top public defenders is calling on Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan to notify all defendants with closed criminal cases originating out of the Dracut Police Department that an audit revealing years of evidence mismanagement by the department may contain exculpatory information. Hundreds, if not thousands of convictions may be subject to review and cases reopened based on the audit's findings. "Because there was a poor system of control, every piece of physical evidence is possibly corrupted and I think the district attorney should identify all active and closed cases and notify counsel and defendants in those cases," said Randy Giola, the deputy chief counsel in charge of the Public Counsel Division of the Committee for Public Counsel Services. ........ The consultants found that hundreds of pieces of physical evidence, including sexual assault kits, were not properly logged or labeled and that evidence was stored for years in areas without adequate security, according to a redacted copy of the report obtained by The Sun. The discovery notice the district attorney began filing in active Dracut cases on June 9 also revealed that the main evidence room's door sometimes failed to lock and that at least $1,000 in cash collected as evidence went missing. It is not clear from the Pomeroy audit just how far back the DPD's evidence mismanagement began. The consultants reported there were conflicting accounts as to when officers stopped using software to track evidence -- one of the systematic failings identified -- but that it might have been as early as 1998. Thousands of cases could potentially be open to review by the district attorney. Giola argued that prosecutors should be responsible for identifying and sending out notices in every relevant case, rather than expecting defendants or attorneys, who may not be aware of the audit, to seek out the information. A 2016 evidence scandal in the Braintree Police Department, where more than $400,000 in cash, more than 60 guns, and thousands of drug samples went missing over nearly 20 years, has resulted in the dismissal of dozens of drug cases and the resignation of the police chief there." The entire story can be found at: http://www.lowellsun.com/news/ PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. 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/c |
Sunday, July 16, 2017
Dracut. Massachusetts: New evidence room scandal: "One of the state's top public defenders is calling on Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan to notify all defendants with closed criminal cases originating out of the Dracut Police Department that an audit revealing years of evidence mismanagement by the department may contain exculpatory information. Hundreds, if not thousands of convictions may be subject to review and cases reopened based on the audit's findings..."The consultants found that hundreds of pieces of physical evidence, including sexual assault kits, were not properly logged or labeled and that evidence was stored for years in areas without adequate security, according to a redacted copy of the report obtained by The Sun. The discovery notice the district attorney began filing in active Dracut cases on June 9 also revealed that the main evidence room's door sometimes failed to lock and that at least $1,000 in cash collected as evidence went missing. It is not clear from the Pomeroy audit just how far back the DPD's evidence mismanagement began."
