Civil Liberties

Mass. Gov.: Charges Likely in State Drug Lab Scandal

Chemist altered test results, forged signatures for about two to three years, affecting tens of thousands of cases

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Governor Deval Patrick said today he expected charges to be brought in the scandal over the mishandling of drugs at a state lab.

Asked if he thought former state chemist Annie Dookhan, the figure at the center of the scandal, should be behind bars, Patrick said, "First of all, I'm not a prosecutor. The attorney general is investigating. The State Police is doing exactly what they should be … doing. The attorney general has to make a decision about charges. I fully expect and indeed I hope, that there are charges."