Massachusetts: 21,000 Drug Cases Could Be Dismissed
By Staff of Al Jazeera - More than 21,000 convicted drug offenders in the US state of Massachusetts may have their cases dismissed because a former police chemist tampered with evidence and falsified tests. If the cases are thrown out, the event would mark the largest dismissal of criminal convictions in UShistory, according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Massachusetts. The state's highest court had ordered district attorneys in seven counties to produce lists by Tuesday indicating how many of approximately 24,000 cases involving Annie Dookhan they would be unable or unwilling to prosecute if the defendants were granted new trials. The cases would be formally dismissed by court action, expected on Thursday, the ACLU said. "Today is a major victory for justice and fairness, and for thousands of people in the commonwealth who were unfairly convicted of drug offences," Matthew Segal, legal director of the ACLU of Massachusetts, said on Tuesday. An investigation in 2013 found that Dookhan falsified test results as far back as 2004.