A case of crime lab malfeasance still in the news six years later, after the jump …...
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Over five years ago, a state crime lab in Massachusetts reported that one of its chemists had resigned under pressure after it was revealed she had faked results of the illegal drugs it was her responsibility to test. The repercussions of Annie Dookhan are still being felt in 2018 and while she is not the only one to have succumbed to malfeasance — DNA crime testing has its own failures, and she is not the last Massachusetts chemist to have fallen astray — her story is instructive as to how rogue employees are able to escape detection.
Others have cited her case here in the past (often a drug war aspect) and this will not be comprehensive, as “I am not a scientist” (but nor, for that matter, am I a climate change denier). Instead, this is a more person-centered overview.
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The story begins with the emigration to the United States of the Khan family from Trinidad & Tobago in the late 1980’s. Annie Khan was born in 1977 and was adored by her parents (an HVAC company founder and a data analyst). She attended the prestigious Boston Latin school and was a studious young woman, active in many after-school activities (if somewhat quiet). She attended UMass-Boston and graduated cum laude. Yet there were some warning signs: as some classmates noted boastfulness on her part, and downplaying difficult assignments as routine. She also seemed to cite mysterious graduate coursework she did.
Back in her school days .. before things went astrayIn her first job (as a private lab quality control analyst) she was quite ambitious and left to take a job in 2004 at the state drug lab after feeling she was not valued. The state lab had a backlog of untested samples … and did she ever fill the void: testing 3x the number that other chemists did. This continued for some time.
What drove her? Part of this seems to be a desire to prove herself: a 4’11” immigrant who felt she needed to be a “Superwoman” rather than “Little Annie”. And while there were suspicions on the part of her colleagues — in part, simply afraid of looking unproductive compared to her extensive output — there was a lack of some possible red flags. She was the first to arrive each morning, the last to leave each night and often took paperwork home with her. She did not wear expensive jewelry or other signs of wealth (that could indicate bribery) and often left money on the table (not putting-in for all of the overtime hours she could have availed herself of).
In her personal life, she had an up-and-down ride. She married that year of 2004 (to a man named Surren Dookhan) but the next year suffered a miscarriage. Her supervisors were concerned when she returned to work relatively soon, but brushed-off concerns. She again became pregnant and in 2006 (at age 29) she gave birth to a son. In 2009, she had another miscarriage, adding to her internal stress and her marriage would have more issues going forward.
Yet concerns about her work results grew, with one lab supervisor wondering if she was ever in front of a microscope? He confronted her about not checking the accuracy of her scale and told a more senior lab supervisor. He was told that it was not his responsibility…. but that of the lab’s chemistry director. (Hmmmm).
A 2009 Supreme Court case (Melendez-Diaz vs. Massachusetts) ruled that a defendant could require a chemist to testify about the results of their work in court, which lessened the time that chemists spent in their labs (and as a result, their work output). Yet Annie Dookhan’s testing numbers … kept on rising.
All along, she had a relationship with prosecutors who called her on the phone (against lab procedures). But one of those (an assistant DA in Norfolk County, MA) seemed to have a close relationship (with flirtatious text messages) … so much so that her husband suspected an affair (never confirmed) and told that prosecutor she “was a liar … looking for sympathy and attention”. (Later, George Papachristos resigned his post, not wanting to be a distraction, after the emails became public).
Her situation went on for some time, as a 2010 audit by a senior lab tech looked only at her paperwork (not re-testing her samples). A different colleague found some cases where she mis-identified a substance as something else … yet chalked-it-up to honest mistakes. In fact, a supervisor in 2011 gave her a special assignment merely to …. “slow her down” (to no avail).
Her star began to fall when she was taking samples from the evidence room (without authorization) and then forged a colleague’s initials. She was suspended and after an investigation, resigned in March, 2012. She admitted to several things, including (a) “Dry-labbing” samples — identifying them on sight, without testing, as well as (b) taking samples returned to her after a re-test did not confirm her initial finding … then contaminating it. She was also found to have falsified her resumé, claiming a master’s degree (when she simply had a bachelor’s degree).
She was indicted later in 2013 and pleaded guilty to twenty-seven counts of charges, sentenced to three years in prison plus probation … before being released in 2016.
At her sentencing hearingSeveral of her supervisors were fired for their lack of oversight, the Dept of Public Health chief resigned (citing an ultimate responsibility) and that state lab was shuttered altogether. Yet the greatest effect was on the criminal justice system: as of 2017, more than 21,000 convictions were vacated due to her involvement with the case. And just this past February, a class-action lawsuit was filed against the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, seeking additional compensation for those who may have been falsely convicted.
As noted, while this sort of thing could happen anywhere … a smaller scale case took place across-the-state (in western Massachusetts) earlier this year. A chemist named Sonja Farak stole drugs submitted to the lab for testing for her own use, consumed drugs required for testing, and manipulated evidence and the lab’s computer system to conceal her actions. She did this over a four-year period without being detected. Once again, the Massachusetts Supreme Court ordered a sweeping dismissal of cases she was involved in.
I am not in a position to know just what the corrective actions should be in the case of state laboratories (with employees overworked and underfunded) — my recent college graduate nephew noted that this was a case study in his forensic chemistry classes — yet I suspect a re-evaluation of the drug war might at least be part of it.
Let’s close with the Scottish-born actor Alan Cumming singing Reefer Madness — a song inspired by the original 1936 drug exploitation film of the same name.
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Now, on to Top Comments:
(Nothing from the field this evening)From Ed Tracey, your faithful correspondent this evening ........
In the front-page story about Kentucky’s right-wing governor upset about the Louisville Courier Journal working with ProPublica (for a year-long investigative reporting project into a state government program) — plus, Gov. Matt Bevin adding a Soros Money dig into it — both SWalkerwillgotojail as well as Twain Disciple offer some background into the Bluegrass State political scene.
In the front-page story about the plea deal entered into by Maria Butina… after much contemplative discussion, it took Fatherlot to visually show us the relationship that she has with the Vladinator.
And lastly: yesterday's Top Mojo - mega-mojo to the intrepid mik ...... who rescued this feature from oblivion:
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