Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog

Tim Masters, who was convicted in the 1999 of murdering Peggy Hettrick, was set free today. Masters had been serving a lifelong prison term for her in 1987 that happened when he was just 15-years-old. Her mutilated body was found in a field near Fort Collins, Colorado close to Masters’s trailer.

Fort Collins police worked on the case for over 10 years before arresting Masters. He has served more than nine years of his sentence. Masters has always maintained that he was innocent.

It wasn’t until the last few months that special prosecutors and defense attorneys brought to light the fact that key information had been withheld from Masters’ attorneys during his 1999 trial.

Evidence reportedly withheld by police and prosecutors included a plastic surgeon who had said that a teenager could not have made the meticulous cuts that were done to remove Hettrick’s body parts and an FBI profiler’s warning to police that just because Masters liked to draw horror scenes did not mean he murdered Hettrick.

The sketches, a collection of knives, and a series of narratives helped persuade a Colorado jury that Masters was guilty. There was never any physical evidence tying him to the murder.

Masters is now 36 years old. A judge overturned his conviction and set aside his sentence after new DNA evidence showed that the DNA found on Hettrick’s clothing did not belong to Masters. He was released on a $200,000 personal recognizance bond.

Prosecutors say they will decide by February 5 whether to try him again.

DNA Evidence
Except for identical twins who can have identical DNAs, no one else has the same exact DNA. DNA is Deoxyribonucleic acid. It is the main building block for a person’s genetic makeup. The person has the same DNA in every cell of the body and this never changes.

During crime investigations, DNA evidence is collected to identify a suspect or eliminate a possible suspect. DNA evidence can also be useful in reopening closed criminal cases or solving unsolved crimes.

A person who was wrongly convicted can be set free based on new DNA evidence proving his or her innocence.

Our Boston, Massachusetts criminal defense team would like to offer you a free consultation to discuss your criminal case.

Murder conviction thrown out; Masters goes free, CNN.com, January 22, 2008

Tim Masters Set Free, MyFoxColorado, January 22, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Timeline of the Masters case, RockyMountain, January 18, 2008

Special Prosecutors Offered Stipulation (PDF)

Defense Demands New Trial for Masters, October 23, 2007 (PDF)

Understanding DNA Evidence

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Posted In: Murder , Wrongful Convictions

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An FBI forensic test considered so faulty that the FBI no longer uses it may have caused juries to wrongfully convict hundreds of innocent people who are now serving prison time for crimes they did not commit.

The forensic test uses a science called bullet-lead analysis, which links bullets used to commit a crime to bullets belonging to the suspect. The theory is based on the premise that a batch of lead will always have a one-of-a-kind chemical makeup.

In 2004, the National Academy of Sciences determined that there were inconsistencies in the bullet manufacturing process that proved the science “unreliable and potentially misleading.” Decades worth of FBI testimony to jurors could well have been “misleading under federal rules of evidence.” There is therefore a good chance that faulty test results administered as evidence could have led to wrongful convictions.

The FBI stopped using this particular forensic test in 2005. The government, however, has held back from releasing the list of some 2,500 cases in which the analysis was used. Many of these cases involve homicide convictions.

“60 Minutes” and the Washington Post have identified over 12 cases in which a court either reversed the conviction or must now investigate whether innocent people were sent to prison.

The FBI says it will start notifying prosecutors of the possibility that people were wrongfully convicted. The two-to-four timeframe for appealing the convictions, however, is nearing an end.

Wrongful Convictions
123 people in the United States have been released from death row since 1973 after their convictions were overturned.

The Innocence Project, which has helped overturn about 100 death sentences with post-conviction evidence, cites some reasons that innocent people are wrongfully convicted of crimes they did not commit.

In a study involving 70 cases where guilty verdicts were overturned, the Innocence Project found that:

• More than 30 of these convictions were because of prosecutorial misconduct.
• More than 30 of these wrongful convictions involved police misconduct.
• False witness testimony affected the outcome of 15 cases.

FBI's Forensic Test Full of Holes, Washington Post.com, November 18, 2007

Innocence and the Death Penalty

The Latest Statistics from the Innocence Project, Caught.net

Related Web Resources:

Innocence Project

Wrongful Murder Convictions in Massachusetts

Federal Bureau of Investigation

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Posted In: Wrongful Convictions

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A federal district judge has ordered the federal government to pay $101.8 million for the framing of four men for a 1965 gangland murder that they did not commit.

Two of the men who were wrongfully convicted, Louis Greco and Henry Tameleo, died while in prison. The other two men, Joseph Salvati and Peter Limone, were exonerated six years ago. Salvati had been on parole since 1997 while Limone was set free after serving 33 years in prison.

Judge Nancy Gertner said that FBI officials let employees “break laws, violated rules, and ruin lives” by wrongfully convicted them four men.

The men were exonerated after FBI memorandums were found that had not been submitted during trial. The memos indicated that the U.S. government’s main witness, mob hit man Joseph Barboza, had lied when he accused the four men of killing mobster Edward Deegan and that officials knew he was lying.

Barboza was allegedly protecting the actual murderer and FBI officials supposedly played along with him because, per the memo’s suggestion, Barboza had helped them solve other crimes and the real killer, Vincent Flemmi, was an informant.

Flemmi passed away in prison. He had been serving time for an unrelated case.

Limone was awarded $26 million. Mr. Salvati received $29 million. Mr. Tameleo’s estate received $13 million, and Mr. Greco’s estate received $28 million. The spouses and other family members of the four men also received money.

Limone accused the federal government of stealing 33 years of his life. He was 33 and the father of four young kids when he was arrested. He served several years on death row until Massachusetts got rid of the death penalty. Limone’s attorney said there was evidence proving that Barboza fingered his client because he refused to fire a waitress that Barboza had been romantically involved with.

Tameleo’s wife died while he was in prison. Greco’s wife became very depressed following his arrest and one of his sons killed himself after his father died.

Salvati’s attorney said that his client owed a $400 loan shark debt, which is why Barboza accused Salvati of committing murder.

In Massachusetts, the death penalty no longer exists. Life in prison without parole is the only penalty for first-degree murder.

Here is a list of other wrongful murder convictions that have taken place in Massachusetts.

The federal government is in charge of prosecuting capital cases in the state. Wrongful convictions can be successfully fought by an experienced criminal defense team.

U.S. Must Pay $101.8 Million for Role in False Convictions, NY Times, July 27, 2007

Resources for Keeping the Death Penalty out of Massachusetts

Related Web Resource:

Massachusetts Wrongfully Convicted, Northwestern.edu

Continue reading "Four Men Were Wrongfully Convicted in Massachusetts, and a Federal Judge Orders the US Government to Pay $101.8 Million" »

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Posted In: Felonies and Violent Crimes , Murder , Wrongful Convictions

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