Since 2020, judges released at least nine men from prison because of Boston police or prosecutorial misconduct, shoddy investigations, or evidence that pointed to someone else.
The men, almost all of whom are Black, had each served at least two decades. bos.gl/E6FBweS
Two Boston homicide detectives traveled to interview a key witness from a 2005 murder trial, a man whose claims of police misconduct threatened to unravel a decades-old murder conviction. Police and prosecutors usually work as a team in the search for truth. But not in this case.
One of the officers, Sergeant Detective Michael Devane, told the witness that he disagreed with a new district attorney’s office unit vetting old convictions for possible injustices. bos.gl/E6FBweS
“There’s all these woke kind of people,” said Devane, “these people have an agenda . . . and they’re trying to unearth everything.”
In the past two years, plenty has been unearthed. A driving force behind many of the cases is @DARollins's Integrity Review Bureau.
Devane’s comments to the witness underscore an insular culture of a department that, as is common in police ranks, protects its own and fiercely resists scrutiny.
Despite leadership's promises to reform, some detectives are fighting to safeguard the past. bos.gl/E6FBweS
In the last few months, three men serving life sentences have been freed from prison.
The detectives traveled in October to Virginia because a state judge had temporarily released Shaun Jenkins amid allegations of misconduct. Jenkins has served 18 years. bos.gl/E6FBweS
Days earlier, a different judge had vacated a murder conviction against James Lucien, freeing him after 27 years behind bars because a detective had committed perjury at trial in 1995. bos.gl/E6FBweS
Last month, another judge vacated a rape conviction against Tyrone J. Clark, freeing him after serving nearly 50 years in prison.
In April, another judge ordered the temporary release of Raymond Gaines, who spent more than four decades in prison. bos.gl/E6FBweS
In freeing Gaines, this time over the objection of prosecutors, the judge cited the involvement of a now dead Boston detective who had “coerced and threatened witnesses” in another case.
Gaines is free while fighting for a new trial. bos.gl/E6FBweS
Rollins, who will soon serve as US attorney for Massachusetts, said that her administration found convictions that had been secured by unethical, unconstitutional, and in some cases, criminal, practices.
“We’ve had problems in the past, but we aren’t lying about our problems.”
The work of redressing old wrongs has been vital to Robert Foxworth, 54, who served nearly 30 years for murder until being exonerated days before Christmas 2020. bos.gl/E6FBweS
“Rollins did what was morally right,” Foxworth said in an interview, his voice tinged with emotion.
“They were willing to let me die in there. If she had not been the DA, I would’ve been stuck.” bos.gl/E6FBweS
It remains unclear how aggressively Suffolk County prosecutors will scrutinize past convictions once Rollins departs.
The willingness to take a hard look at old cases can depend on who’s in charge. bos.gl/E6FBweS
Boston police spokesman Sergeant Detective John Boyle declined to address specific cases but said the department was reviewing the comments made by Devane. “The BPD is supportive of all efforts to rectify wrongful convictions and will continue to provide investigative support.”
“While the BPD respects the prosecutorial independence, the BPD may not always agree with every decision made by the [district attorney’s] Conviction Integrity Unit,” said Boyle.
Devane declined to comment and the department refused to make him available for an interview.
Get the full story and the Globe’s continued coverage of overturned convictions in Massachusetts here: bos.gl/E6FBweS
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To those who knew him in Lynnfield, Tom Randele was a regular guy.
But Randele had a secret he’d harbored for 52 years.
Unbeknownst to the residents of this affluent suburb north of Boston, Randele was one of the most wanted fugitives in the country. bostonglobe.com/2021/11/29/met…
On Nov. 12, authorities publicly revealed that Randele was actually Ted Conrad, a bank robber who in 1969 successfully pulled off a brazen heist in Cleveland and had been on the lam ever since. bos.gl/kIetfbn
Conrad, then 20, worked as a teller at Cleveland's Society National Bank.
His last day on the job was July 11, 1969. At the end of his shift, he walked out with a bag containing $215,000 (equivalent to over $1.6 million today) and was never seen again. bos.gl/kIetfbn
A new and potentially dangerous variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has been detected, and it’s causing jitters around a pandemic-weary world.
Here is what you need to know about the variant. bos.gl/ihDg1tA
The World Health Organization on Friday deemed a new mutation a “variant of concern,” and, using its Greek letter naming convention, dubbed it “Omicron.” bos.gl/ihDg1tA
❓What is a variant?
Variants are mutations of the coronavirus. Scientists say viruses constantly mutate naturally as they replicate and circulate in their hosts. bos.gl/ihDg1tA
In Cambridge, a 2021 BMW that cost $79,000 new recently sold for $85,000 — used.
As the shortage of new cars turns used cars into objects of intense desire, dealers are begging car owners to turn in their vehicles early so they can flip them for more. bostonglobe.com/2021/11/21/bus…
🚗 Many people driving modest cars are finding they're suddenly worth something.
They may not have the latest safety features, or even an attached bumper, but they’ve got one major thing in their favor: They’re here now. bostonglobe.com/2021/11/21/bus…
Since March 2020, used cars and truck prices have gone up 43.3 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index.
That’s compared with an 11.7 percent rise for new vehicles, and an overall US inflation rate of 7.3 percent. bostonglobe.com/2021/11/21/bus…
“I did not see women or Black people ... holding those types of positions. I never even imagined I would see a Black mayor in my lifetime in the city of Boston," Janey said. "There is some truth in ‘if you see it you can be it’ and people dream what they are exposed to."
Iowa is one of three states, along with Oklahoma and Florida, to enact laws this year giving drivers some degree of legal immunity if they use their vehicles to hurt protesters. apps.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/20…
The new laws and proposals came after a sharp rise in people driving their vehicles into protests.
“It’s shifting the burden of proof from the motor vehicle driver to the pedestrian,” one North Dakota state lawmaker declared when he introduced a driver immunity bill in his state in early 2017.