Crime & Safety

Chemist Who Admitted to Fudging Drug Evidence Out on Parole

Annie Dookhan was sentenced in 2013 for falsifying test results and doctoring evidence in criminal cases.

JAMAICA PLAIN, MA - A former state drug lab chemist who pled guilty in 2013 to faking test results for thousands of criminal cases has been released from prison.

Annie Dookhan has been paroled from the Massachusetts Correctional Institute in Framingham, several news outlets reported Tuesday. Her attorney told WBZ-TV she will remain on probation for the next two years.

Dookhan was sentenced to 3-to-5 years in prison after admitting to tampering with evidence in order to further her career.

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After her misconduct was discovered in 2012, the state suspended its relationship with the Department of Public Health lab in Jamaica Plain where she worked as a chemist. All forensic testing in criminal drug cases is now done by the State Police, according to the Boston Globe.

Dookhan handled more than 40,000 criminal cases during her nine years with the lab; in 2014 the ACLU petitioned the Supreme Judicial Court to dismiss those cases, or allow those convicted to vacate their original pleas and seek new trials without the potential of harsher sentences.

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According to WBZ-TV, at least 1,100 cases were dismissed or not pursued due to the scandal.

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