Thread by @BostonGlobe

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