ACLU Argues for Drug-Crime Defendants in JP Lab Crisis

The American Civil Liberties Union argued Thursday that none of the defendants convicted of drug crimes after a chemist at a Jamaica Plain lab tampered with evidence should face the possibility of a harsher sentence if they seek a new trial.

The case before the Supreme Judicial Court involves Annie Dookhan, the drug lab chemist who pleaded guilty in 2013 to tampering with evidence at the now-closed Hinton State Laboratory Institute in Jamaica Plain. She was sentenced in 2013 to at least three years in prison after admitting she faked test results.

The Boston Globe reported ACLU lawyer Matthew Segal said many ‘‘Dookhan defendants’’ are afraid of asking a judge to vacate their guilty pleas in order to seek a new trial because under state law, they can be prosecuted for crimes that had been dropped when they entered their original plea deal.

The case could have national implications, Business Insider noted.

For more on this, click below:

• ACLU Petitions Court to Dismiss Dookhan Cases
• Husband Calls Annie Dookhan a ‘Liar’

Photo via Patch story Husband Calls Annie Dookhan a ‘Liar’