So… 300 Inmates Were Falsely Released Thanks To Chemist Who Faked Evidence (VIDEO)
40,000 individuals had their fate decided by Annie Dookhan’s tampering with lab tests.
Posted on 11/25/2013, in Evidence and tagged Annie Dookhan, chemist, guilty, MA, Mass. Bookmark the permalink. 7 Comments.
We Hold These Truths To Be Self-Evident 
Annie was sentenced to three to five years in prison, followed by two years’ probation. She began serving her sentence immediately and was transported to Framingham state women’s prison.
Defense attorney Nicolas Gordon asked for a one-year sentence for his client, who was born in the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago and has no previous criminal record.
Prosecutors said Dookhan’s actions had caused serious damage to the criminal justice system and cost the state millions of dollars to assess the damage and mitigate the effect on thousands of people charged with drug offenses during the nine years Dookhan worked at the lab. The court system has been flooded with motions for new trials filed by defendants in drug cases.
Dookhan also pleaded guilty to falsely claiming that she held a master’s degree in chemistry. One of the conditions set for her probation is that she not use the false credentials when seeking employment after serving her sentence. She was also ordered to have mental health evaluations after leaving prison.
Source: http://boston.cbslocal.com/2013/11/22/annie-dookhan-expected-to-plead-guilty-in-state-drug-lab-scandal/
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How many people were falsely convicted? Those released had a right to a fair trial and didn’t get one. It’s awful when bad people are let loose but this is the best system anywhere. Are we a nation of laws or not?
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@willisnewton.
Don’t get me started. We are a nation of laws that are subject to the biases, frailties, knowledge, and decisions of man. Not doing their job appropriately, from the cops to prosecutors all the way to juries, is to deny justice to victims and the accused.
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Seems like an awfully light sentence she recieved considering how many lives may have been affected. Not only wrongful convictions, but how many others such as job applicants, fired from jobs, CPS cases, ect. What about the man who was released and then commited murder. I would think she would hold some responsibility in that matter. I can’t understand how they sentenced her to only 3 to 5 years without knowing her role in each and every case, and how their lives may have been affected. How does a person live with themselves knowing by trying to make themself better, it could result in pain and hardship for someone else?
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@dreamer. For those injured by guilty verdicts who suffered loss of job, etc., they will most likely be thrown in the civil court for redress.
That is probably why her sentence includes a mental evaluation.
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I’m also astonished at the light sentence considering the thousands of people she affected, although I also acknowledge that US system sentences are often too long and too harsh, considering that probation and monitoring of non-violent offenders is often effective.
And how do you get a job like that with false credentials? Sheesh.
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@Two sides. That sentence is light when considering how much it’s costing the state to review all of the cases. I read somewhere that the state has already spent over $85,000 and is looking at that same amount or more. I’m not sure what standards are used in reviewing criminal cases where there has been tampering with evidence, but it seems that fraud on the court should be sufficient in reversing guilty verdicts. Now, how are they going to handle not-guilty verdicts without violating double-jeopardy? That is worth watching.
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