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/
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PASSAGE ONE OF THE DAY: "Northampton
attorney Luke Ryan’s work on behalf of his clients proved vital in
exposing the breadth of Farak’s misconduct. Ryan said the treatment
records his advocacy helped bring to light showed
that Farak was either
using or affected by drugs nearly every day she worked at the lab. He
also said that this misconduct began virtually the same day she became a
chemist in Amherst. Ryan said that although he is not part of the
effort to contact those whose convictions have been overturned, he
supports it. “With a drug conviction comes almost a second-class
citizenship,” Ryan said. “The collateral consequences are really
profound.” He
said that such a conviction can impact anything from being able to
volunteer at your child’s school to one’s immigration status. Of those
convicted, Ryan said, “They’ve grown accustomed to living with this
baggage.” He
also said that written notices aren’t sufficient alone, as they aren’t
always received and people can also move, noting that someone’s address
at the time of a conviction may well be different now. Newman said
that the search campaign for those who had their convictions overturned
as a result of the Farak case is more robust than was the case for
Dookhan, although the hotline is happy to answer questions from Dookhan
defendants as well. He also said that a search firm has been engaged to
find the current addresses of Farak defendants. Ryan said he
doesn’t believe that the drug lab scandals in Massachusetts are unique
to the Bay State, but that the state’s public defender system, which he
said is more robust that public defender systems in a number of other
states, was able to bring it to light."
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PASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY: "As for
preventing such scandals in future, Ryan noted that society has made a
choice to treat the public health problem of drug addiction as a
criminal matter. “You’re making a choice that you’re devoting
significant resources to,” he said. Still,
Ryan said that if that choice is made, drug labs should operate under
the principles of forensic science and not an “assembly line.” Newman
said that Farak and Dookhan cases show the short cuts the criminal
justice system will take, to “put people behind the razor wire.” And he
indicted the war on drugs and war on crime as responsible for the
destruction of millions of families across the United States. “Misguided
policies result in Farak and Dookhan,” Newman said. Those who wish to
see if their drug conviction was overturned can call 1-888-999-2881."
-------------------------------------------------------------------
STORY: "ACLU reaching out to drug defendants cleared in state lab scandal," by reporter Bera
Dunau, published by The Gazette on February 21, 2018.
PHOTO CAPTION: "Sonja Farak, of Northampton, a former chemist
at the state crime lab in Amherst, appears in Hampshire Superior
Court on Monday, April 24, 2013. Farak was found guilty of evidence
tampering, drug theft and drug possession, and the Supreme Judicial
Court last years dismissed thousands of drug convictions secured through
testing at the Amherst lab."
GIST: "Following the Supreme Judicial Court’s October decision
to overturn thousands of drug convictions because of misconduct at an
Amherst testing lab, a campaign has been launched to inform the
defendants that they have been cleared of those charges. The
campaign is being led by the American Civil Liberties Union of
Massachusetts and the Committee for Public Counsel Services, which is
the state’s public defender agency. The cases were dismissed as a
result of the misconduct of former state chemist Sonja Farak, of
Northampton, who was using drugs from the Department of Health’s Amherst
lab almost every day she worked there, and subsequent prosecutorial
misconduct.
“This is a path to justice for
thousands of people
across Massachusetts — and an opportunity for them to more easily
rebuild their lives,” Carol Rose, executive director of the ACLU of
Massachusetts, said in a statement. “Most of the people affected by the
court’s decision have already served their sentences, but continue to
face the collateral consequences of a drug conviction, like challenges
finding housing and employment. “We can’t turn back time and get
back the liberty people have lost — but we can get the word out that
there may be significant relief.” The campaign will utilize newspaper,
radio, internet and
television advertisements with a focus on western Massachusetts
platforms, as well as flyers and printed postcards. “Most of the
Farak drug lab cases were from western Massachusetts,” said Bill Newman,
director of the Western Regional Law Office of the ACLU of
Massachusetts. The ruling that overturned the convictions also
required the attorney general’s office to pay to notify those whose
convictions have been overturned. Newman said that, so far, 10,912
charges in 7,554 cases have been dismissed as a result of the Farak
misconduct. “There are going to be more,” said Newman, who said he
believes that number will be in the thousands. The
misconduct of Annie Dookhan, who falsely submitted positive test
results at a drug lab in Jamaica Plain, also resulted in the voiding of
tens of thousands of drug convictions. Between the two scandals, Newman
said that more than 47,000 charges across more than 28,000 cases have
been dismissed. The affected cases range from 2003 to 2013. Northampton
attorney Luke Ryan’s work on behalf of his clients proved vital in
exposing the breadth of Farak’s misconduct. Ryan said the treatment
records his advocacy helped bring to light showedthat Farak was either
using or affected by drugs nearly every day she worked at the lab. He
also said that this misconduct began virtually the same day she became a
chemist in Amherst. Ryan said that although he is not part of the
effort to contact those whose convictions have been overturned, he
supports it. “With a drug conviction comes almost a second-class
citizenship,” Ryan said. “The collateral consequences are really
profound.” He
said that such a conviction can impact anything from being able to
volunteer at your child’s school to one’s immigration status. Of those
convicted, Ryan said, “They’ve grown accustomed to living with this
baggage.” He
also said that written notices aren’t sufficient alone, as they aren’t
always received and people can also move, noting that someone’s address
at the time of a conviction may well be different now. Newman said
that the search campaign for those who had their convictions overturned
as a result of the Farak case is more robust than was the case for
Dookhan, although the hotline is happy to answer questions from Dookhan
defendants as well. He also said that a search firm has been engaged to
find the current addresses of Farak defendants. Ryan said he
doesn’t believe that the drug lab scandals in Massachusetts are unique
to the Bay State, but that the state’s public defender system, which he
said is more robust that public defender systems in a number of other
states, was able to bring it to light. Ryan’s chief client
eventually had his conviction overturned, but only after more than five
years of incarceration. Ryan is now representing this client in his
effort to seek monetary compensation for his imprisonment. Ryan is
also one of three attorneys with a pending class action lawsuit on
behalf of exonerated defendants seeking the return of fees and fines
that resulted from their now overturned convictions. As for
preventing such scandals in future, Ryan noted that society has made a
choice to treat the public health problem of drug addiction as a
criminal matter. “You’re making a choice that you’re devoting
significant resources to,” he said. Still,
Ryan said that if that choice is made, drug labs should operate under
the principles of forensic science and not an “assembly line.” Newman
said that Farak and Dookhan cases show the short cuts the criminal
justice system will take, to “put people behind the razor wire.” And he
indicted the war on drugs and war on crime as responsible for the
destruction of millions of families across the United States. “Misguided
policies result in Farak and Dookhan,” Newman said. Those who wish to
see if their drug conviction was overturned can call 1-888-999-2881."
The entire story can be read at:
https://www.gazettenet.com/Campaign-seeks-to-contact-those-whose-drug-convictions-have-been-overturned-23655312
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/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.
