Massachusetts forensics scandal caused by ‘bad actor’

After investigating the closure of the Hinton forensics lab in Massachusetts in 2012, following falsification of drug analysis tests by a forensic chemist who worked there, the state’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has concluded that one worker was “the sole bad actor” at the lab.

In a report released on 4 March, the office said the “management failures” of the lab’s directors contributed to the worker Annie Dookhan’s ability to carry out criminal acts. “The directors were ill-suited to oversee a forensic drug lab, provided almost no supervision, were habitually unresponsive to chemists’ complaints and suspicions, and severely downplayed Dookhan’s major breach in chain-of-custody protocol upon discovering it,” the OIG stated.

In November 2013, Dookhan was sentenced to three to five years in state prison in connection with altering drug evidence during the testing process and obstructing justice.