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State Drug Lab

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

PopSci.com: Dookhan Cheated to Get Ahead

The mistakes of the former Hinton Drug Lab chemist at the center of a statewide scandal are the subject for a Popular Science online magazine article.

Annie Dookhan’s alleged mistakes as a chemist have received much attention since she was indicted on charges related to the Hinton Drug Lab scandal this past summer. But a science magazine attempts to unpack what she did – and did wrong – from a purely scientific point of view. A Monday article titled, “FYI: What Do Forensic Chemists Do, And Why Would They Cheat?” on PopSci.com, the website affiliate of Popular Science Magazine, shines a light on the job of a forensic chemist. The article claims that while on TV, the state chemist’s job looks easy, even glamorous, but behind the microscope in real life, that chemist’s test means everything in court. “…In a court of law, some drug convictions result in harsher sentences than others,” the …

In this Article:

Poor Oversight Allowed Dookhan Malfeasance (in Jamaica Plain Patch)

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

District Attorney: 'One-Size-Fits-All' Won't Work With JP Drug Lab Disaster Cases

Suffolk County District Attorney Dan Conley says low-level pushers don't stand to benefit most from the JP drug lab "disaster." He says that honor goes to hardened criminals moving lots of drugs or those with violent histories.

If you're accused of a drug crime, and the evidence against you was handled by the State Drug Lab in Jamaica Plain, it might not mean "get-out-of-jail free." But for defendants it sometimes means "get-out-of-jail for lower bail." On Thursday, a convicted rapist who faces new drug charges was due back in court. His bail had been lowered because chemist Annie Dookhan — accused of tainting evidence in thousands of cases — had tested evidence against him. The man, 52-year-old Marcus Pixley, skipped court and is on the lam, a fugitive from justice. Pixley, who was held on $5,000 bail in connection to a South End drug possession arrest, had his bail reduced to $1,000, which he posted. A judge ordered the reduction because samples in the case …

In this Article:

Convicted Rapist, Set Free on Low Bail Because of JP Drug Lab Scandal, is a Fugitive (in Jamaica Plain Patch), Coakley: Neither Drugs Nor Money Motivated JP Drug Lab 'Rogue Chemist' Annie Dookhan, and Special Court Sessions Called to Deal With Suffolk County Fallout From JP State Drug Lab Scandal (in Jamaica Plain Patch)

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