Hundreds Could Be Freed From Custody Due To Drug Lab Scandal

A prosecutor said 300 to 500 people could be released from custody in the greater Boston area because of the state drug lab scandal.   WAMC’s Paul Tuthill reports.

   Suffolk County District Attorney Dan Conley said his office may assent to the release of  some pretty dangerous people .  Conley spoke Friday outside a special session of  Boston Municipal Court called to consider cases possibly tainted by former dug lab chemist Annie Dookhan.  Dookhan, who was arrested on criminal charges last week, is alleged to have deliberately tampered  with evidence for a period of several years. State officials have said  tens of thousands of criminal cases may have been tainted.  The Boston Globe reported  district attorneys will ask the Patrick administration for  $10 million a year to hire the staff to deal with the fall out. District attorneys in western Massachusetts  said evidence in local drug cases was  not typically sent to the lab in Boston where Dookhan worked.