PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I cannot believe how many fine TV serials and podcasts which revolve around huge forensic science issues- and important criminal cases - are coming available these days.
What better way to start than with Sonja Farak and Annie Dookhan, the subject of dozens of posts over the years on this Blog.
Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.
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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Both Dookhan and Farak cost the state millions in payouts as thousands of criminal convictions were overturned. In a statement about the documentary, Netflix said: "Did anyone know what had been going on? And when did they find out? The scope of Farak's addiction - and the number of people convicted as a result of her drug-testing - comes to light, despite repeated efforts to suppress evidence in the case."
STORY: "Netflix's New True Crime Documentary On One Woman's Drug Addiction Looks Wild," by reporter Mary-Jane Wiltsher, published by 'Entertainment' on March 13, 2020. Mary-Jane Wiltsher is a freelance lifestyle and culture journalist."
POST: "On the hunt for your next true crime documentary binge? Look no further than Netflix's How To Fix A Drug Scandal, which cracks open one of the biggest justice scandals in the Massachusetts legal system. The new four-part series charts the case of Sonja Farak, a drug chemist at the Amherst crime lab of the Massachusetts State Police. In 2013, it came to light that Farak - who had suffered from mental health issues since she was a child - had become addicted to the drugs that she was supposed to be testing. Smoking and sampling drugs including liquid meth, Farak kept her habit under wraps by tampering with crucial evidence and faking results. "I was smoking at the lab, smoking at home," says Farak in the trailer. "I actually smoked in the evidence room. I was totally controlled by my addiction." The extent of Farak's abuse of the system meant that multiple law suits were implicated, with guilty people walking free and defendants brought to trial using corrupted evidence. How To Fix A Drug Scandal traces the "ripple effect" caused by Farak's actions and examines the state police force's response. Along the way, the documentary explores the parallel case of Annie Dookhan, another drug chemist at Massachusetts Department of Public Health, who was abusing her position by falsifying evidence. Documentarian Erin Lee Carr - the woman helming the project - has previously worked on HBO documentaries like At the Heart of Gold which examined the USA gymnastics sex abuse scandal and Mommy Dead and Dearest, about the murder of Dee Dee Blanchard. Carr also directed an episode of Netflix's docuseries Dirty Money, exploring Valeant Pharmaceuticals' "predatory" drug pricing. This is Carr's first standalone documentary for Netflix - and it's not to be missed. How To Fix A Drug Scandal airs on Netflix on 1st April 2020."
The entire story can be read at:
https://www.tyla.com/entertaining/tv-and-film-netflix-how-to-fix-a-drug-scandal-air-date-sonja-farak-annie-dookhan-20200313
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;
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FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
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