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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Drug Related (Possession or sale) |
Sentence: |
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Years Imprisoned: |
1.25 |
Year Crime: |
2008 |
Year Convicted: |
2009 |
Year Cleared: |
2013 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Massachusetts |
County or Region of Crime: |
Suffolk |
City of Crime: |
Boston |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated |
Summary of Case: |
"Leonardo Johnson was wrongly convicted on November 18, 2009 of distribution of a controlled sustance in a school zone. The prosecution's case was based on the positive drug test performed by Annie Dookhan and Daniel Renczkowski of the William F. Hinton Drug Laboratory (Massachusetts State crime lab) in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. Dookhan's test on February 4, 2009 of the substance Johnson sold to an undercover police officer tested positive for cocaine. During Johnson's trial that began on November 16, 2009 Dookhan testified she had a Master's Degree in Chemistry and she conducted two preliminary tests on the substance, both which had returned positive results for cocaine. Johnson's defense was the substance wasn't cocaine, but part of a nut. After Johnson's conviction he served two years and one day in prison. After Johnson was released, a scandal about Dookhan lying about having a Chemistry Degree and falsifying and lying about lab results was publicly reported. Johnson filed a petition to vacate his conviction, which was granted, that was based on the new evidence Dookhan committed perjury during Johnson's trial about her credentials and that the lab tests were positive for cocaine when they were in fact negative -- which the prosecution failed to disclose to him. Johnson filed a claim for compensation from the State of Massachusetts under G.L.C. 258D, and his claim was settled in 2014 for $250,000. On August 8, 2014 Johnson also filed a federal civil rights lawsuit that named Dookhan and others as defendants. In July 2015 the Defendant's Motion to Dismiss the lawsuit was denied. On June 29, 2016 Johnson settled the federal lawsuit for an undisclosed amount with all the defendants -- Linda Han, Julianne Nassif, Charles Salemi, Elisabeth OBrien, and Daniel Renczkowski -- except for Dookhan. On January 5, 2017 Johnson filed a motion for a Default Judgment against Dookhan and for a Hearing to Determine Damages as to Annie Dookhan. On June 21, 2017 U. S. District Judge Indira Talwani determined Leonardo Johnson is entitled to $2 million in compensatory and punitive damages from Dookhan for the 15 months he served in prison, because she gave “false testimony to convict an innocent man.” Dookhan had 30 days to appeal the judges order." |
Conviction Caused By: |
Perjury by lab technician. |
Innocence Proved By: |
Conviction vacated based on new evidence the prosecution's crime lab expert committed perjury about her credentials and the lab tests that were in fact negative for cocaine. |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
"$2,250,000 total. $250,000 (State of Massachusetts, 2014), $2 million (Annie Dookhan, 6-21-2017), and Undisclosed amount (Linda Han, Julianne Nassif, Charles Salemi, Elisabeth OBrien, and Daniel Renczkowski, June 29, 2016)" |
Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
45 |
Age When Released: |
46 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
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Information Source 1: |
"Leonardo Johnson v. Annie Dookhan, Daniel Renczkowski, et. Al. (Civil Action No. 14-cv-13274-IT (D. Mass.) (Defendant's Motion to Dismiss denied on Jul. 17, 2015.)" |
Information Location 1: |
https://casetext.com/case/johnson-v-han |
Information Source 2: |
"Johnson, Leonardo v. Commonwealth, SUCV2014-02528 (Settled in 2014 for $250,000)" |
Information Location 2: |
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Information Source 3: |
"Leonardo Johnson v. Annie Dookhan, Daniel Renczkowski, et. Al. (Civil Action No. 14-cv-13274-IT (D. Mass.) (Lawsuit settled on June 28, 2016 for undisclosed amount by defendants Linda Han, Julianne Nassif, Charles Salemi, Elisabeth OBrien, and Daniel Renczkowski.)" |
Information Location 3: |
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Information Source 4: |
"Judge orders Dookhan to pay $2m to wrongly convicted man, By Shawn Musgrave, Boston Globe, June 22, 2017" |
Information Location 4: |
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/06/21/judge-orders-dookhan-pay-million-wrongly-convicted-man/kkSJCH6V0sLgYRAg32hO6I/story.html |
Information Source 5: |
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Information Location 5: |
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Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org