The proposed five-member board would have oversight authority over all state facilities engaged in forensic services in criminal investigation.
In the wake of the Jamaica Plain Drug Lab crisis, the Massachusetts Senate Republican Caucus wants “tighter controls and higher standards” at its state drug labs. The caucus proposed that a five-member board be established to “have oversight authority over all state facilities engaged in forensic services in criminal investigations,” according to a statement released Wednesday. The board will consist of the secretary of public safety and security, the attorney general, the inspector general and the colonel of state police, or their designees, along with one appointee from the governor, according to the statement. “We need to create a new infrastructure of oversight, accountability, transparency and integrity, and this legislation will …
A roundup of developments in the shocking breakdown at the State Drug Lab in JP, in which a chemist was allowed to mishandle drug evidence for years.
Courts continued to set convicted drug dealers free as the state deals with the fallout from the alleged actions of a "rogue chemist" who was allowed to mishandle drug evidence for years. Here's a roundup of key developments last week as the state works through more than a thousand cases in which people are behind bars on evidence handled by Annie Dookhan, the disgraced worker at the shuttered State Drug Lab in JP. For all of Jamaica Plain Patch's coverage of the JP Drug Lab Scandal, please visit our topic page on the issue.
It was announced Monday that Suffolk Superior Court, which handles cases in Boston, will have special court sessions in October to deal with cases in which a so-called "rogue chemist" may have tainted evidence.
The state announced on Monday its latest move to deal with the unprecedented scandal out of the State Drug Lab in Jamaica Plain. Suffolk Superior Court will host a series of sessions dedicated to cases affected by the lab crisis, said Jake Wark, spokesperson for the Suffolk County District Attorney. So-called "rogue chemist" Annie Dookhan is alleged to have tainted evidence in thousands of cases. She was arrested on Friday on charges of obstruction of justice and falsely claiming a degree from UMass Boston. She pleaded not guilty and was freed on $10,000 bail. The Franklin woman is required to wear a GPS monitoring device. The court sessions are expected to be the weeks of October 15 and 22, Wark said. "We are assembling a task force of …
