Report: Mass. still faces crime-lab issues

BOSTON – Massachusetts could face another drug-lab crisis if it doesn’t put significant reforms in place, including the creation of an independent audit process, the Boston Bar Association said in a report released last week, according to The Associated Press.
The association, which represents 10,000 attorneys, said more oversight is needed to make sure the state doesn’t have a repeat of the crisis caused by former state chemist Annie Dookhan, whose misconduct at a state drug lab has jeopardized thousands of drug convictions. She was convicted of faking test results and tampering with samples at a Mass. Department of Public Health drug lab where police sent substances to test in criminal cases.
At least 1,100 criminal cases have been dismissed or not prosecuted because of tainted evidence or other fallout from the lab’s shutdown. •

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