Sunday, July 16, 2017

Dracut. Massachusetts: New evidence room scandal: "One of the state's top public defenders is calling on Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan to notify all defendants with closed criminal cases originating out of the Dracut Police Department that an audit revealing years of evidence mismanagement by the department may contain exculpatory information. Hundreds, if not thousands of convictions may be subject to review and cases reopened based on the audit's findings..."The consultants found that hundreds of pieces of physical evidence, including sexual assault kits, were not properly logged or labeled and that evidence was stored for years in areas without adequate security, according to a redacted copy of the report obtained by The Sun. The discovery notice the district attorney began filing in active Dracut cases on June 9 also revealed that the main evidence room's door sometimes failed to lock and that at least $1,000 in cash collected as evidence went missing. It is not clear from the Pomeroy audit just how far back the DPD's evidence mismanagement began."