This story literally took years of work!
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Independent journalist in Massachusetts. I make lots of public records requests.
Newsletter: https://andrewqmr.substack.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/andrewqmr
Email: aquemere0@gmail.com
This story literally took years of work!
If you appreciated it, please consider signing up for a free or paid subscription to my newsletter to get more of my writing about wrongful convictions, police misconduct, government transparency, and more.
My latest for The Appeal:
James Carver spent 36 years in prison after he was convicted of setting one of the deadliest fires in Massachusetts history. But after reviewing new scientific evidence, a judge set him free.
“They took my life away for nothing,” Carver said. “I’ve always said that I’m not the person that was involved in [the fire], and I meant it.”
NEW: Essex County prosecutors will fight a judge's ruling that overturned James Carver's murder convictions in the case related to the infamous Elliott Chambers Rooming House fire in Beverly, Massachusetts.
ALSO: Reactions to the news from family members of victims.
NEW: Essex County prosecutors will fight a judge's ruling that overturned James Carver's murder convictions in the case related to the infamous Elliott Chambers Rooming House fire in Beverly, Massachusetts.
ALSO: Reactions to the news from family members of victims.
NEW: James Carver has spent more than three decades in prison for a deadly rooming-house fire in Beverly that he has maintained he did not start.
And on December 23, a judge overturned his murder convictions, writing that scientific advances have undermined key evidence presented at trial.
https://andrewqmr.substack.com/p/james-carver-convictions-overturned
The Sheriff of Nottingham's spirit is alive and well in Western Mass:
Read the absurd excuses DAs use to justify civil asset forfeiture laws, which allow police and prosecutors to enrich themselves by seizing cash and cars with little due process.
NEW: Bianca Tylek dismantles that absurd WJAR propaganda piece claiming no-cost phone calls are somehow causing increased crime in jails.
The reality is that this is a wildly successful policy that's connected incarcerated people with their loved ones.
https://andrewqmr.substack.com/p/dont-be-fooled-no-cost-calls-is-good-policy
NEW: I wrote about the amazing story behind the Running for Innocence team, which for the past decade has raised money to help free wrongfully convicted people from prison.
The team was founded by an exoneree, Victor Rosario, and one of the lawyers who got him out of prison.
And this year, the group added a new member: Alex Rodriguez, the man who trained Rosario to run marathons while he was incarcerated.
https://andrewqmr.substack.com/p/a-decade-of-running-to-free-the-innocent
NEW: Bianca Tylek dismantles that absurd WJAR propaganda piece claiming no-cost phone calls are somehow causing increased crime in jails.
The reality is that this is a wildly successful policy that's connected incarcerated people with their loved ones.
https://andrewqmr.substack.com/p/dont-be-fooled-no-cost-calls-is-good-policy
NEW: I wrote about the amazing story behind the Running for Innocence team, which for the past decade has raised money to help free wrongfully convicted people from prison.
The team was founded by an exoneree, Victor Rosario, and one of the lawyers who got him out of prison.
And this year, the group added a new member: Alex Rodriguez, the man who trained Rosario to run marathons while he was incarcerated.
https://andrewqmr.substack.com/p/a-decade-of-running-to-free-the-innocent
James Lucien spent 26 years in prison before his murder conviction was overturned due to evidence of police misconduct that finally unraveled the dubious case against him.
But the state of Massachusetts will owe Lucien no more than $1 million for his decades behind bars unless lawmakers change the cap on compensation for victims of wrongful convictions.
https://andrewqmr.substack.com/p/compensation-for-wrongful-convictions-ma
I appeared on NBC10 Boston to explain how the Mass State Police get away with not complying with public records requests and what can be done to fix this problem.
https://andrewqmr.substack.com/p/above-the-public-records-law-mass-state-police-transparency
I appeared on NBC10 Boston to explain how the Mass State Police get away with not complying with public records requests and what can be done to fix this problem.
https://andrewqmr.substack.com/p/above-the-public-records-law-mass-state-police-transparency
However, lawmakers on the state's judiciary committee are seeking a compromise that would also expand pretrial detention without bail — ironically linking the issue of justice for wrongfully convicted people to incarcerating people who have not been convicted of crimes.
James Lucien spent 26 years in prison before his murder conviction was overturned due to evidence of police misconduct that finally unraveled the dubious case against him.
But the state of Massachusetts will owe Lucien no more than $1 million for his decades behind bars unless lawmakers change the cap on compensation for victims of wrongful convictions.
https://andrewqmr.substack.com/p/compensation-for-wrongful-convictions-ma
Two #Stoneham detectives ordered a real-estate broker to his knees at gunpoint at a house he was about to show a client; jury will decide whether town violated his civil rights
https://www.universalhub.com/2024/judge-rules-stoneham-will-have-answer-cops-who
FYI: Wednesday is Wrongful Conviction Day. There will be an event at the Massachusetts State House followed by a march to Boston City Hall.
https://andrewqmr.substack.com/p/wednesday-is-wrongful-conviction-day
FYI: Wednesday is Wrongful Conviction Day. There will be an event at the Massachusetts State House followed by a march to Boston City Hall.
https://andrewqmr.substack.com/p/wednesday-is-wrongful-conviction-day
Court tosses drugs as evidence because while police had the right to do a strip search to find them, they shouldn't have done it on the side of a busy #Dorchester street
https://www.universalhub.com/2024/court-tosses-drugs-evidence-because-while-police
Last night, I appeared on The Young Jurks to talk about the James Carver case.
Carver has spent decades in prison for setting a deadly fire in Beverly, Massachusetts. However, his lawyers say scientific evidence proves he is innocent.
Watch here:
https://andrewqmr.substack.com/p/video-is-james-carver-innocent