Government Chemist Tampered With 40,000 Cases, Locking Countless Innocent Americans in Prison

[damnedifIknow]

MASSACHUSETTS — In a maddening scandal that is rocking the state of Massachusetts, a government crime lab chemist has been caught intentionally forging signatures and tampering with evidence in as many as 40,000 cases, destroying the lives of countless innocent Americans.

Annie Dookhan worked as a chemist for the State of Massachusetts, and it turns out she had close relations with prosecutors.

These prosecutors were able to successfully convict innocent Americans because Dookhan would chemically taint the “evidence,” resulting in career boosts for the prosecutors while innocent men and women were torn from their families and locked in cells.

Prosecutors praised Dookhan’s work and depended on her to get the convictions they wanted.

Hundreds of “convicts” and defendents have already been released, and there are potentially thousands more waiting to be set free."

Dookhan used her position to forge results for nearly a decade. ”I don’t think anyone ever perceived that one person was capable of causing this much chaos,” says Norfolk County District Attorney Michael Morrissey."

http://filmingcops.com/corrupt-government-chemist-tampered-with-40000-cases-locking-countless-innocent-americans-in-prison/

[TheCowsCameHome]

1. She was a one-person wrecking crew, that's for sure.

Now a lot of criminals have walked because of her.

[Vincardog]

3. Annie Dookhan is the only criminal mentioned in this post. Where are the "a lot of criminals"?

In the USA you are innocent until convicted, maybe even after if there was prosecutorial mis-conduct.

[TheCowsCameHome]

4. Back on the streets, bragging about being sprung.

They love that woman. One publicly thanked her for his unexpected/undeserved release.

She tainted the whole pool. She should've gotten more than 3-5 in the slammer.

[Vincardog]

6. I read the whole article. Not one word about those dastardly criminals being wrongfully released.

Where do you get your "facts"?

[TheCowsCameHome]

10. You could try Google.

It's been all over the news since the scandal broke over a year ago.

There's much more to this story than this one-sided article can hope to cover.

Happy reading.

[joshcryer]

13. You could at least link to the person who thanked her.

I can't find that particular report.

[TheCowsCameHome]

16. You didn't look very hard.

It took about 10 seconds.

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2013/09/18/released-convict-i-just-got-out-thanks-to-annie-dookhan-i-love-that-lady/

[niyad]

24. fascinating, because when I just googled, the first three pages did not even have that article.

I did, however, find this:





The husband of disgraced chemist Annie Dookhan warned a prosecutor that his wife was a chronic liar in ­ominous text messages nearly two years before she was finally caught improperly removing drug evidence from a state lab, according to new State ­Police documents obtained by the Globe.

Surren Dookhan has not spoken publicly about his wife’s free fall from prolific chemist to the defendant at the heart of the biggest law enforce­ment scandal in recent Massachusetts
history. But former assistant ­Norfolk district attorney George Papachristos told ­police that Dookhan’s husband contacted him in August 2009 after he befriended ­Annie Dookhan.
“This is Annie’s husband do not believe her, she’s a liar, she’s always lying,” Surren Dookhan texted to the prosecutor, according to an interview Papachristos gave to State Police on Oct. 3, 2012. “She is looking for sympathy and attention.”

Surren Dookhan’s warning did not prevent Papachristos from continuing a friendly, sometimes personal correspondence with Annie Dookhan that ultimately forced him to resign his position when their e-mail exchanges became public late last year. Dookhan has been indicted on 27 counts of obstructing justice and altering drug evidence, casting doubt on the reliability of her work in thousands of cases.

The Papachristos interview is among of a raft of new documents obtained by the Globe that show both the depths of Dookhan’s deception and the ineffectiveness of her bosses at the Jamaica Plain lab. For ­example, Dookhan had a key to the evidence safe for six months after she was caught improperly removing 90 drug samples in June 2011.
The State Police documents provide new details on Dookhan’s alleged misconduct in three of the six cases in which she faces charges for certifying that a sample contained illegal drugs when it did not.

. .

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/01/09/husband-disgraced-chemist-warned-prosecutor-that-she-was-chronic-liar-investigation-reveals/N8GGzFSHAmBxqt0kiSTf1J/story.html

[niyad]

25. ONE person???? ONE?? come on, come up with the rest --it isn't our job to google for your claims.

[Th1onein]

43. That's IT?

What about all those criminals you mentioned, running the streets now? That's one story, with one quote, from some obvious idiot.

That's all you got?

[Maraya1969]

49. I don't see anywhere the he said he was guilty. He says he maintains his innocence.

He was convicted of drug trafficking, probably by her saying that she found drugs somehow. So he is innocent.

[TheCowsCameHome]

60. Um, I linked to the person who thanked her.

That's the only thing I was asked to do, as requested.

Anything else you offer as to his guilt or innocence is pure speculation.

[Vincardog]

14. Why should I spend time substantiating your claim?

[TheCowsCameHome]

17. Then don't.

[joshcryer]

12. I'm guessing this VICE article:

http://www.vice.com/read/hey-boston-thanks-to-annie-dookhan-your-streets-will-soon-be-flooded-with-drug-criminals

Fuck the war on drugs in any event.

[Maraya1969]

50. Most drug criminals should be in treatment centers; not jail, anyway.

I hate that they fill up jails with sick people trying to feed their sickness by selling the same thing that they take. They don't have the realization of how bad the drugs are or what they are doing to themselves so how can they realize how much problems they are causing by selling them?

This for-profit jail system in our country has been killing people for years.

And yes I agree - fuck the war on drugs.

[Th1onein]

37. Right, because when they charge you, that means you're guilty.

Why even have a trial? Or forensics, for that matter?

[pnwmom]

47. Not if there was other evidence to convict them. n/t

[stevenleser]

53. I'm trying to understand your position here. This person caused innocent people to be convicted.

There is no question that the liberal/progressive position on that is that it is better that hundreds perhaps thousands of guilty people go free than one innocent person imprisoned by the state.

Would you prefer that an innocent loved one of yours, one of your parents, your spouse or significant other or your children, to have been imprisoned for 5-10-15-20 years in this chemists efforts to get as many 'criminals' off the street as possible? Would that have been worth it?

[MADem]

77. +1,000 !!!! What a jerk. And damn, what a paucity of SUPERVISION.

That is some shit that needs fixing, and soon.

[Dana Enos]

2. check check and recheck

how does one person have so much power in one place? i don't understand why she could have the means to change what she wanted and how she wanted. didn't anyone stop to think that some low life would do this some day. she was probably paid well. they all should be fired and the people wrongly jailed freed with Hugh settlements.

[niyad]

26. welcome to DU

[notadmblnd]

52. At the very minimum she had to have the nod from some of the prosecutors

that wanted convictions to build up their reputations.

[cpwm17]

5. And as always, those in power that ruin so many lives

are punished very little:

Dookhan is now facing charges of her own. If she is convicted she will receive a relatively light sentence of three to five years, which has outraged citizens even more.

[Dawson Leery]

15. She should go to jail for life.

[cpwm17]

18. I strongly agree

[tblue]

27. Absolutely. It's worse than many felonies.

What a horrid person. Lock that creep up and throw away the key.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

21. and the prosecutors who "depended"on her to get the results they "needed"

Evil plus greed.

And yeah--for every innocent shut away, there are one or more guilty people free and clear.

Psychopaths. I've met waaay too many --I've been a magnet for them!--and if there was some way to rid the world of them.... it would be a really good thing.

[cpwm17]

28. Yep, greed, and related human flaws, is the cause of most evil in the world

I've learned to mostly avoid people. I'm friendly if they're friendly to me. But since so many people are hostile, I don't want to give them a chance to ruin my day. It must be me, or something.

At least my 100% hostile neighbor just put up a for-sale sign in front of his house. I'll make sure not to introduce myself to the new neighbors unless they talk first. That was my mistake last time.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

32. yeah...being too open and trusting too soon.....

Learning to become less emotionally needy..... helps.

Good luck with your next neighbors! Odds are good they'll be ok. Congratulations on the hostile one moving!

[catrose]

30. and golly, what's going to happen to the prosecutors?

crickets chirping?

[BlancheSplanchnik]

33. really

[fadedrose]

7. Hell is too good for this woman

They have standards and stricter bosses....

[NBachers]

8. Each innocent year served should be added to Dookhan's sentence; and same to each crooked prosecutor

[Th1onein]

38. Absolutely.

[enki23]

9. What about all the scumbag corrupt prosecutors?

.

[tblue]

29. Yes! Anonymous, please do yo thang.

They all should go to prison. Or else what's to keep them from doing it again?

[alfredo]

11. The coldest, deepest, darkest cell is too good for her.

[NaturalHigh]

19. This creature is only facing 3 - 5 years?

How does this even come close to justice? She should never walk out of prison.

[ConcernedCanuk]

48. "She should never walk out of prison" - hmmm

.
.
.

She might not - the prison grapevine works well.

If she has indeed put away as many innocents as claimed, she may bump into one of them, or one of the victims friends.

Crooked cops don't fare well in prison, lying witnesses/professionals won't either.

She's in for a rough ride methinks.

Well deserved.

CC

[Logical]

20. Wait for the term "qualified immunity" to start being used about the prosecutors. n-t

[Rosa Luxemburg]

22. I wonder how many other Annies there are?

[NBachers]

74. Deborah Madden sent the San Francisco crime lab into a crisis when she was caught stealing cocaine.

SAN FRANCISCO – A former San Francisco crime lab technician at the center of a scandal that resulted in hundreds of drug cases being dropped has been sentenced to home confinement on a cocaine charge.

Deborah Madden was accused of skimming cocaine she was supposed to be testing while working at the lab in 2009.

Hundreds of drug cases were thrown out; two trials against Madden resulted in mistrials.

Deborah Madden, 63, was sentenced to five of years of probation including one year of home custody with an ankle monitoring bracelet, 300 hours of community service, and a $5,000 fine.

[davidn3600]

23. This shows the biggest flaw in our justice system

Prosecutors don't care about justice nor the truth...they try to win cases at whatever cost in order to increase their conviction rate. That way they can brag about how tough they are on crime when they decide to run for political office.

It's what starts them on the road of corruption. And then it gets worse as their political career progresses.

[WinkyDink]

31. I saw this one on "L&O." No, really.

[Ranchemp.]

55. Law & Order-SVU to be exact.

I remember watching that episode and thinking to myself how easy it would be for a lab personell to taint evidence to the prosecution side.

[WinkyDink]

70. I'm pretty sure it was the original. I remember the character told LT (S. Epatha Merkerson) that

she, the forensic pathologist, was just doing what everyone wanted. Her situation was revealed with the case LT MADE LT on.

[Ranchemp.]

71. You're right, it was the Lt. (Epatha Merkerson) who questioned why she would do it.

I stand corrected.

[WinkyDink]

80. P.S. Sunday mornings are (usually) Briscoe marathons on TNT!

[Ranchemp.]

82. Lenny Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) was my daughters fave.`

She actually cried when he passed.

[Coyotl]

34. This happens even when evidence is not altered. The motivation to convict remains the same

and the concern about innocence is just as devoid. People are building careers on sending others to prison, and their comfort, livelihood, and pension depends upon it.

[quaker bill]

35. integrity is key

once you have forged one case, all the rest are tainted.

[SoapBox]

36. wow...stunning.

Go through the posted link to the article...then read the story from the Boston Globe (12/2012...link is in the article).

What a horror story.

[sakabatou]

39. Now it'll take years to review the cases

And hopefully release the innocent.

[davidpdx]

40. I agree with some of the others

Life in prison without the possibility of parole is what she should be facing. It's a damn good thing I'm anti-death penalty. If I weren't, I'd go for public hanging.

I hope the defendants file so many lawsuits against her that she spends the rest of her natural life trying to fend them off.

[exboyfil]

41. Any chance to get her on Federal Civil Rights violations?

She obviously violated the Civil Rights of many people.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

42. An even more scary thing to think about is, how many other lab techs and prosecutors there may be nt

[TheKentuckian]

44. No telling, probably an epidemic.

The incentives are too perverse for a just system to actually be in place with few checks on corruption and too little interest in truth.

[Laelth]

45. k&r for exposure. n/t

-Laelth

[bemildred]

46. And how many more are there out there just like her?

We have no idea, we didn't want to know.

[Sheri]

51. this happens all the time.

i don't trust these kinds of "scientific" test results at all.

[loudsue]

54. I have always believed that someone who does this kind of thing should pay with their

freedom. Whether it is a crooked lab tech, prison guard, cop, teacher, prosecutor, or someone who falsely accuses someone of rape....if you take an innocent person's freedom or destroy their future, your crime should take your own freedom away from you, so that you are not free to do it again.

[99Forever]

56. Most prosecutors are more concerned with their...

... 'conviction rate' than they are with seeing justice done. Why this sort of shit would come as a surprise or shock to anyone, would be funny, if weren't for so many people's lives being destroyed in the process.

And these assholes wonder why so many have zero respect or faith in our joke of a "legal system."

[jsr]

57. Pure, unadulterated evil.

[fredamae]

58. Sure the Gov't can

say Cannabis is a Drug--and leave in Fed Sched I forever if it chooses....

But the one thing apparently they Can't do is Prove it is a "Drug". If memory serves Dr Gupta, in his documentary "WEED" reported that when he began his research for his special--he called the DEA to request the science/documentation they used to determine it's placement in Sched I--and they couldn't produce it because there is no such proof.

Additionally, several years ago,. the Feds isolated and rescheduled THC (the psychoactive compound in Cannabis that has everyones hair on fire) to a Fed Sched III to allow dr's to "prescribe" and for pharma to synthesize THC and commercially sell it.
So the rest of the plant, which has NO psychoactive compounds is left in Fed sched I status?

Talk about Corporate Welfare and the usurping of public funding right under our noses and without much more than a "public peep" about it!

[Humanist_Activist]

59. Forensics labs results should be peer reviewed...

it should be double blind anonymous, so no knowing who the suspect(s) are until the end, etc. But independent labs should be able to have access to and test the evidence, and if there are conflicts in results, then they should be labeled as inconclusive.

[KoKo]

61. Agree! n/t

[Humanist_Activist]

63. If her lab followed proper scientific methodology, she wouldn't have been able...

to fudge the results and tamper with evidence like she was able to. I don't understand why forensics, while a science, isn't required by law to follow the methodology of science in order to be accepted as evidence in a court of law.

[penultimate]

62. What was her motivation?

It doesn't sound like she was being paid off. Was it for career advancement? Is this like a serial killer type thing, but without the killing?

[Humanist_Activist]

64. Most likely confirmation bias, she thought the accused were guilty...

a lot of people think that way, she just happened to have been in a position to be judge, jury and executioner.

[LisaL]

66. I don't think she cared if they were guilty or not.

The lab had a high work load. She could do a lot more work (because she wasn't actually doing it) than her co-workers.

"Dookhan, of course, set off a crisis in the Massachusetts justice system when investigators discovered that she had falsified test results and tampered with evidence in ways that impacted more than 40,000 criminal cases. For years, Dookhan tested thousands more samples than her colleagues, and became a go-to for some prosecutors who wanted lab results expedited. After her arrest, five of her colleagues as well as the state public health commissioner resigned. There are still a lot of questions about the Dookhan’s motivations, and with a guilty plea, Dookhan likely won’t have to clarify them for some time."

http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/blog/2013/11/22/annie-dookhan-goes-prison/

[Humanist_Activist]

67. I guess, unless she publishes a tell-all book later in life, we won't know for sure...

all I know is that the fact she could do it at all puts the whole lab, indeed the methodology of forensics itself, in question.

[LisaL]

65. My understanding is that she was just wanting to be an exemplary employee.

She could examine a lot more samples than her co-workers (obviously because she was not actually doing the work). That made her the best employee in the lab.

[TheCowsCameHome]

68. That is true

She was determined to be the top employee in the lab, for whatever reason. Came in early, stayed late, worked through lunch, etc.

Her supervisors knew she was outdoing the other employees by a wide margin.

[idwiyo]

69. This is one of the reasons death penalty must be abolished.

More reasons:

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/09/national/09LABS.html

http://www.sfexaminer.com/sanfrancisco/tainted-dna-adds-to-sfpds-crime-lab-issues/Content?oid=2133748

http://law.hofstra.edu/pdf/Academics/Journals/LawReview/lrv_issues_v34n01_BB1_Ideas-Essays_Difonzo_final.pdf

[bluestate10]

72. The Chemist was mistaken. But she was trying to do the right thing in a system

that had been historically under-funded. The current Governor was working to improve the state crime labs, even before the Chemist got caught. Crimes were going un-resolved due to samples sitting around for an astounding number of years untested. Women who had been raped and fought stigma to report their rapes got no re-dress because samples that were taken went untested.

The Chemist did the wrong thing, absolutely. But it must be pointed out that despite your headline, her actions will free probably more people than got unjustly jailed. The unjustly jailed will be freed with restitution from the State. But her actions will free people that SHOULD be in jail and no where else. The real culprit are the Governors that for almost two decades allowed the state's crime labs degrade, a list of republican Governors that included one Willard Mitt Romney.

[babylonsister]

76. Sanity. Thanks. nt

[Fumesucker]

79. Governors in MA write the spending bills?

That seems a little unusual.

[idwiyo]

81. She was "mistaken"? She was trying to do "the right thing" by FAKING the evidence? ...

That's the most ludicrous apologia for such a heinous crime I have read so far.

[JoeyT]

73. A slap on the wrist for the chemist, nothing at all for the prosecutors.

And predictably there are a handful of authority worshipers out trying to defend even this. Heaven forbid anyone's trust in the system be undermined in any capacity. Better to defend someone that was "trying to do the right thing" by sending innocents to prison.

Edited to add: And of course they're far grumpier that a few guilty people might go free than they are that a bunch of innocents definitely went to prison. Jesus Tapdancing Christ.

This woman, and every prosecutor that she helped taint a case for should be locked away for a long, long time.

[Liberal_in_LA]

75. let them out. pay them 1000 for every day in jail

[RainDog]

78. Now a second person has been fired for lying about her credentials

http://filmingcops.com/breaking-another-government-chemist-accused-of-deception-over-180000-cases-now-need-review/

-an update at the bottom of your link.

...we now have reports that a second “chemist” has been fired over doubts concerning her qualifications.

Kate Corbett, who worked in the same lab as Dookhan, claimed that she had a “chemistry degree” from Merrimack College.

That turns out to be a lie, as investigators determined that she took some chemistry classes in college but her degree is actually in sociology, according to a report.

Which is to say, a sociology major may well have worked in a lab that required high-level expertise in chemistry, a lab whose “evidence” determined the fate of thousands of human beings.

This addition brings 180,000 cases up for review.