Editor: I find the characterizations of the recent sniper homicides as being "cocaine related" to be unsettling. Unless the toxicology reports on the victims shows cocaine use, or drugs or paraphernalia were found on the victims, it is very irresponsible of authorities to make these claims. Obviously, Mr. Meadows and Ms. Patton cannot refute these accusations. If police are echoing false hearsay evidence of drug use, the grief felt by the victims' families has been needlessly multiplied. The thought of a bloodthirsty gunman randomly executing people is very frightening to the public. However, trying to calm these fears at the expense of the victims' reputations is worse. Joseph Kennedy Clendenin [end]
Opinions abound along Campbells Creek Drive about the recent fatal shooting outside a neighborhood convenience store. Police investigating two shootings seem to be leaning heavily on the suspicions of area residents who blame drugs for the killings. But the family of Jeanie Patton, who was killed about 10 p.m. Thursday after pumping gas into her car at the Campbells Creek Speedway, doubts the drug theory. "I'm not knocking the police department, but they're telling people what they want to hear," said Larry Patton, Jeanie Patton's father. "I never saw Jeanie use drugs, and I never saw her boyfriend [Marty Walker] use drugs. But I'm not saying that they didn't." [continues 293 words]
As investigators combed the Campbells Creek area for clues to the fatal shootings of three Kanawha County residents last week, they say residents blame drugs, particularly methamphetamine, for the killings. The meth trade has become an ever-increasing aggravation for police across the country, and has been a growing problem in West Virginia for the past several years. The drug is so simple to make that it can be produced in a moving car. It can invade entire neighborhoods because it can be made on back porches or kitchen tables or in laundry rooms. [continues 704 words]
Throwaway People THE FEDERAL Bureau of Justice Statistics has released new data confirming that America is the foremost stockade in the community of nations. America's prison and jail population continued to grow another 2.6 percent between 2001 and 2002, reaching 2.2 million, a record. America locks up people at a rate five to 10 times higher than most modern nations. Federal and state taxpayers shell out $40 billion a year to keep this huge segment of the population in steel cages. [continues 246 words]
WINFIELD - Putnam County law enforcement units fighting drug-related crimes are getting $22,000 to help continue their efforts. The Putnam County Sheriff's Department, Narcotics Enforcement Unit and the Prosecuting Attorney's Office will share the $22,000 distributed by the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team, or MDENT, said Capt. Chuck Sadler of the Charleston Police Department. The Putnam agencies joined MDENT this year and became eligible for federal funds distributed through the state to the regional group. Putnam and Kanawha County officials announced the grants. They were also based on drug seizures and other drug-related enforcement activities in Putnam County. [continues 252 words]
Editor: "Moments earlier, Bright had doused Allred with gasoline, then tried to set him on fire with a charcoal lighter. The lighter never ignited." (From July 19 Charleston Gazette.) Perhaps we should outlaw gasoline. It could be the weapon of choice after we ban guns. At the very least, we should put trigger guards on charcoal lighters. People should be held accountable their own actions. Release marijuana smokers from prison and use the space to lock people up for 20 years after using a gun to commit a crime. John Lewis Charleston [end]
Editor: Regarding your mention that Canada was "legalizing small amounts of marijuana" in your Tuesday editorial, it is important to note the distinction that marijuana possession remains illegal in Canada, except for tightly controlled medical purposes. Under proposed legislation before the Canadian Parliament, penalties would include fines, parental notification for youth under the age of 18, and discretion to provide criminal penalties for possession of more than 15 grams. The legislation also includes increased penalties for traffickers and those who grow marijuana, reflecting its overall purpose: to reduce the consumption and supply of marijuana. We all recognize the importance of reducing dependency on illicit and licit drugs, despite different approaches, and the law the Canadian government is proposing reflects that goal. Bernard Etzinger, Spokesman, Canadian Embassy, Washington [end]
U.S.-Canada Contrast NOTHING separates Americans and Canadians geographically except lakes and an artificial line on maps (the 49th parallel). However, a profound gulf of values divides the two peoples. Canada provides high-quality medical care free to all citizens. America doesn't. Canada imposes strict gun control. But the right to carry a pistol seems almost sacred to millions of Americans. Canada has no death penalty. In contrast, U.S. President George W. Bush presided over multitudes of executions as Texas governor -- and his brother Jeb is doing likewise as Florida governor. [continues 446 words]
West Virginia is experiencing an explosion in illegal production and use of methamphetamine, but may be making headway on abuse of OxyContin, according to an assessment released today by Kasey Warner, U.S. attorney for the Southern District. About 14 percent of state high school students report using methamphetamine - - 5 percent higher that the national average, according to federal statistics cited in the assessment. And meth labs, once clustered around the Parkersburg area, are spreading into hollows and hills in the southern and eastern parts of the state, Warner said. [continues 374 words]
Crimes involving crack cocaine eclipsed all other drug related offenses in West Virginia between 2001 and 2002, according to a report issued by the state Division of Criminal Justice Services. Marijuana was the most frequently reported drug in 1999, but in 2000 crack cocaine surpassed marijuana and has since become the most frequently reported drug, the report said. Crack cocaine charges increased by 59.4 percent between 2001 and 2002, with a total of 612 arrests involving that drug. There were 301 marijuana arrests in the same period. [continues 732 words]
Everyone knows that America's criminal justice system is stacked against blacks - and the tiny town of Tulia, Texas, is the latest bitter example. Last week, 12 Tulia residents - including 11 African-Americans - were freed after spending four years in prison on cocaine charges. Their convictions were based on the uncorroborated testimony of a white police officer known to be a crude racist - and who now is under indictment for lying at the trial. Nine other defendants had been released earlier. [continues 405 words]
Morals Shaped America DURING a conversation, an Australian told an American: "We were the lucky ones. We got the criminals, and you got the Puritans." This story is passed around as a joke, but it conveys a clear message: Today's Aussies, descended from England's deported convicts, are a bawdy, happy-go-lucky, live-and-let-live people - while American society has been shaped by centuries of moralizing and taboos. The U.S. pattern is evident in the daily news, as the Bush administration endlessly tries to halt abortion, limit sex education, block stem cell research, foster school prayer and impose other moral goals of the so-called "religious right." [continues 634 words]
Blacks Still Cheated LAST Wednesday, human-rights crusader Julian Bond told a West Virginia State College audience that genuine racial tolerance and equality haven't yet arrived in America. By coincidence, on the same day, a new federal lawsuit accused Charleston police of manhandling three black honor students as if they were slum drug peddlers. The "racial profiling" case alleges: A year ago, three youths in State College's Student Leadership Program - limited to the top 5 percent of the school's 6,000 enrollees - were taken to an East End barbershop for grooming and instruction on how to "dress for success." As the exceptional young men drove away, they were surrounded by nine officers with drawn guns. [continues 300 words]
By Charles Shumaker STAFF WRITER Some law enforcement officials are looking to a new state law to make it easier to prosecute and punish methamphetamine makers. The law, set to take effect next month, more clearly explains the charges police can file against someone caught making methamphetamine, said Putnam County assistant prosecutor Erik Goes. Prosecutors in Putnam County already prosecute suspects with meth-related crimes, using either an existing state drug possession charge or a separate attempted felony charge. Goes compared the attempt charge to attempted murder. When a suspect takes any step to kill someone else, they are charged with attempted murder, a felony. [continues 331 words]
A Charleston police officer is scheduled to enter a plea May 27 on a federal charge he let the wife of a drug ringleader keep drug money during an investigation, according to a court order filed Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Charles H. Haden II. Cpl. William Hart was a lead detective in one of West Virginia's largest drug cases against Calvin Dyess and several others. Hart began a sexual relationship with Rachel Ursula Rader, who was Dyess' wife, two months before Dyess and other defendants pleaded guilty in 1999. [continues 470 words]
Three black West Virginia State College students who say they were racially profiled by Charleston police officers one year ago filed suit against the city Wednesday in U.S. District Court. Lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union filed the suit on behalf of Drew Williams, Jason Price and Courtney Shannon. The men were stopped by nine police officers on their way home from a barbershop in Charleston's East End. "Through this lawsuit the ACLU hopes to put an end to the substitution of skin color for evidence by law enforcement officers in Charleston," state ACLU Executive Director Andrew Schneider said in a press release. [continues 518 words]
Woman kept drug money during probe, federal charge says A Charleston police officer is expected to plead guilty to a federal charge he let the wife of a drug ringleader keep drug money during an investigation, according to U.S. District Court records. A special federal prosecutor filed an April 11 information and a motion to schedule a plea hearing for Cpl. William Hart. U.S. District Judge Charles H. Haden II is assigned the case but has not set a hearing date. [continues 467 words]
Jones Would Use Civil Injunctions To Clean Up Streets To this point, mayoral candidates Danny Jones and Chris Smith have played it fairly straight in their respective pitches to Charleston voters. Both talk of improving basic services, such as garbage pickup. Each touts his experience. Jones' ads are on television now, with Smith surely to follow. The Republican Jones has thrown a bit of a curve into the mix, however, with his proposal that the city bar habitual criminal offenders from certain areas of the city, through the use of civil injunctions. [continues 590 words]
Substance Abuse Center A First For Putnam County HURRICANE - It's the first of its kind in Putnam County. Once the Teays Valley Resource Center opens next week, adolescents with substance abuse problems will have a place to go for help. "When we found out how many adolescents in the county needed help, we decided we needed to do something," said Pastor Gerry White of the Lighthouse Baptist Church in Hurricane. For six months, White and organizers from Putnam County and the state have been working to get the agency off the ground. They began moving into offices located at Hurricane's old City Hall this week. [continues 465 words]
Paramedics Not Immune PERSONNEL who hold the lives of others in their hands - police, airline pilots, haulers of deadly chemicals, etc. - always should be subject to random drug testing, as a public safety precaution. Paramedics should be included in this high-risk group. They have a life-or-death role with injured and stricken people. But it's hard to understand why some leaders of the Kanawha County Ambulance Authority oppose drug tests for crews. Kanawha County Commissioner Kent Carper is pushing the authority to require random tests of the rescue workers. "This deserves a hard, serious, open-minded look," he told the board. [continues 169 words]
Kanawha County Ambulance Authority board members had a mixed response to the subject of random drug testing when it was introduced Friday. "We've got a solution before we have a problem," said board member Harry Miller. Miller and several other board members opposed changing the county ambulance board's drug testing policy. Ambulance staff members, including drivers, aren't tested unless administrators have a reason or "probable cause." Board member and Kanawha County Commission President Kent Carper brought the idea of random testing to Joe Lynch, the authority's director. [continues 339 words]
Editor: The full-page ads being distributed by the White House's anti-drug office are a striking example of government waste. The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) has a $150 million advertising budget for this fiscal year - more than all other federal agencies' ad budgets combined - that it spends on ads that even they admit don't work. For instance, the ads claim that more teen-agers seek treatment for marijuana than for all other drugs combined. This statement, while true, is disingenuous at best: According to U.S. government statistics, most teens in treatment for "marijuana abuse" are not in treatment because they were found to be addicted, but because they were arrested and given a choice of treatment or jail. [continues 80 words]
WASHINGTON - The federal government says more than half of the 141,000 people using or dependent on inhalants are teen-agers, but a West Virginia official says the under-publicized problem actually is much worse. The national statistics are shocking, however, they miss many records involving younger kids, said Dr. Elizabeth Scharman, director of West Virginia Poison Center in Charleston. "Many children start very young in grade school and junior high," Scharman said. The National Inhalants Prevention Coalition held a conference in Washington last week to provide facts on inhalant abuse, the intentional breathing-in of gases and vapors for the purpose of getting high. [continues 344 words]
Kanawha County Emergency Ambulance Authority board members plan to revisit the debate over whether to subject their employees to random drug testing. But few at the authority appear inclined to change current policy. Board member, and County Commission president, Kent Carper placed the issue on the agenda for the authority's meeting March 28. No drug-related incidents spurred the decision to reconsider random tests, he said. "I don't think we have a problem," Carper said. "I have great confidence in the personnel over there. I just want to ask the questions that need to be answered." [continues 396 words]
One morning, Larry gets called out of class. A student council member and co-captain of the football team, he's told that he has been randomly chosen to take a drug test. How realistic is this scenario? Apparently, it accurately portrays what is quickly becoming reality in many schools. To counteract the growing drug problem in many schools today, counties all over the state are adopting a random drug testing policy. Under this policy, any students who participate in extracurricular activities will be subjected to a drug test. And yes, academic extracurricular activities are included. [continues 372 words]
I worked as a substance abuse counselor in a Maryland jail for three years and later as a licensed psychologist in adult Maryland correctional facilities for several years, working exclusively with youths sentenced as adults. Dawn Miller's report of the high rate of mental problems among incarcerated youths is in line with my experience. Two additional observations: youth substance abuse in prison is underreported, especially by those inmates who continue regular or occasional use in prison or those who have buddies doing so. [continues 547 words]
Barbour Sheriff's Dept. Also Sued For Stopping 2 Men On Way To Pot Rally The American Civil Liberties Union sued the State Police and Barbour County Sheriff's Department on Thursday for establishing a drug checkpoint last year near a rally organized by marijuana-law reform advocates. ACLU attorneys Allan Karlin and Jason Huber filed the lawsuit on behalf of Thomas Thacker and Brett Gasper. The men said police violated their constitutional rights in July 2001 when they stopped and searched them for drugs on the way to a Barbour County event held by the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, or NORML. [continues 358 words]
More than 100 clandestine methamphetamine labs have been dismantled in West Virginia this year, with Wood County leading the way. State Police said they have discovered more of the "crank" laboratories in the western section of the state. They first started finding them in heavy numbers in Wood County three years ago. "It's a trend that goes from the West Coast to the East Coast and a lot of it has happened in western West Virginia," said Trooper Jay Powers, State Police spokesman. Police believe the trend is moving across the state quickly. [continues 120 words]
Officials Had Worked With Suspended Police Officers A federal probe continues into the conduct of two suspended Charleston police officers who investigated one of the area's largest drug cases. Cpl. William Hart and Cpl. George Henderson III remain on administrative leave from the Charleston Police Department pending the results of the federal investigation. Now, lawyers for Calvin "Calcutta" Dyess and Eric Dewayne Spencer don't want their clients' drug case investigated by U.S. attorneys, because of their association with Hart and Henderson. [continues 493 words]
Editor: I recently read a comment in your Readers' Voice column about an "epidemic" of ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). Actually there is no more of this so-called disorder now than ever. What there is an epidemic of is people who want to solve all of their problems with a pill instead of spending a little time with their children. This has come about since the advent of the mighty drug company campaigns and the emergence of the "recreational drug culture" spawned in the '60s. We now have a pill for just about everything from allergies and baldness to sexual dysfunction, and in our fast-paced lives this seems to be the only answer. [continues 110 words]
Tobacco, Alcohol Are Worse IN TUESDAY'S election, voters in Nevada, Arizona and Ohio all rejected initiatives that would have legalized marijuana, or drastically reduced penalties for possession of it. At the same time, San Francisco voters authorized the city government to begin growing medicinal pot to ease the pain and nausea of severely ill people. Despite such conflicting results, we think America is moving toward acceptance of marijuana. So far, nine states have approved medical pot to soothe the sick, and several urban regions are easing the iron fist of prosecution. [continues 399 words]
Turf Fight In Area Drug War Sparks Police Chiefs' Gripe To U.S. Attorney A law enforcement turf fight is being taken personally by Kanawha County Sheriff Dave Tucker, who said he is "outraged" at what he considers a personal attack from the U.S. attorney. The controversy apparently arose in recent months when local police chiefs participating in the Metro Drug Unit complained to U.S. Attorney Kasey Warner that the sheriff's department was not alerting them when conducting drug investigations in their areas. And, although the department has signed an agreement with the unit, it has not appointed a deputy to it, as it has in the past. [continues 972 words]
Editor: My grandchildren have started to kindergarten and it seems that parents can volunteer as classroom helpers. While I commend those parents who do this, I along with my daughter have some concerns. It appears there is currently no criteria or procedure for volunteers. Many parents don't live with their children because of divorce or separation. Some divorced parents, fathers in particular, have supervised visitations with their child. Obviously there must be a reason for the supervision, perhaps a history of domestic violence, criminal arrest and maybe even drug abuse. These parents should not be allowed to be in the classrooms with our children. I know that most parents don't fit into any of these categories and are excellent role models. It is those few exceptions that worry us. Our teachers work hard and have one of the most difficult jobs in today's society. I know they need the help. [continues 62 words]
Anyone in a "safety sensitive" position with the city of Charleston - such as police officers or garbage truck drivers - must submit to random drug screens. Their Kanawha County counterparts have no such policy. Does this mean that city workers are inherently safer because they may be tested at any time? Or is the county simply following a different approach, one that depends on probable cause to drug test an employee? Charleston Mayor Jay Goldman pressed for passage of the random policy late last year. After intense lobbying by Councilman David Molgaard, the ordinance was changed to give already-hired employees a second chance at a failed screen, provided the employee paid his own way to a treatment program. [continues 345 words]
Editor: It appears that dealing drugs is similar to the cycle of depending on the system for "substantial living." Children are growing up watching their parents and neighbors dealing drugs/stealing, etc., As well as getting government assistance and it becomes a way of life for them. Without education, the majority of employment is with fast-food restaurants, stores, etc., And I see "help wanted" signs constantly. The wages are low and hours long and the younger folks probably feel it is more profitable to just continue on the cycles. Also, even when drug pushers are caught, they are turned into narcs who get to keep profits of their dealings. I, too, see drug deals taking place and turn my head. That dealer may become a free narc in a short time and remember who nabbed him! I can understand folks not telling. Brenda Elkins Charleston [end]
I read with great interest the article "Are Cars the New Bars?" in the Aug. 3 Flipside supplement to the Gazette. The author, Ry Rivard, apparently a student at Braxton County High School, is to be commended for his writing and for bringing this to our attention. Mr. Russ Rader, spokesman for the Insurance Highway Safety Institute, was quoted as saying "What works is sobriety." Indeed, if only it were that simple. Humans have not been known to practice sobriety for centuries. Alcohol has been the "drug of choice" since before the time of the ancient Greeks and Romans, and it remains the drug of choice for current day American youth. [continues 444 words]
Editor: We are a small group of individuals here in Parkersburg who have joined together with the purpose of letting our governor and our legislative leaders know of our desire to have medical cannabis (marijuana) legalized. We have dubbed our group Mountaineers for Medical Cannabis. MMC is committed to help educate fellow West Virginians about the many beneficial uses of this God-given herb and to create a forum of voter information. We have spent many, many hours researching, attending rallies and marches in other states, and in correspondence with Governor Wise and the representatives for the 8th District. [continues 119 words]
19 West Side Shootings THE right to bear arms certainly has plenty of adherents in Charleston's low-income, drug-polluted West Side neighborhoods, where multitudes of youths carry pistols and 19 shootings have happened so far this year. Last week, reporter Greg Stone wrote an analysis of the high-crime sector, where jobless young men peddle crystallized cocaine daily, despite intensified police patrols. He reported that a 17-year-old shot a 20-year-old to death Aug. 6, bringing the 2002 gunfire tally to 16. Before Stone's article was printed Monday morning, three more West Side shootings happened during the weekend. [continues 281 words]
Colombia is a tragic, lawless nation on the brink of collapse after 37 years of warfare between leftist guerrillas, right-wing militias, armed drug cartels and the national army. An estimated 3,500 civilians are killed each year. Political corruption, kidnappings, assassinations and the like are rampant. Various groups hold about 3,000 hostages, including presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, who was seized by Marxists in February. Flamboyant Charleston artist Paul St. James has lived in several countries and often travels to war zones. He visited Sarajevo during the Bosnian conflict and went to central Mexico during the Zapatista rebellion. He recently visited Colombia, where he lived 30 years ago, and faxed this report to the Gazette. [continues 734 words]
Cruel Drug Penalties CORPORATE criminals who pocketed hundreds of millions of dollars from Enron, WorldCom and other looted businesses may never spend a day in prison - - but a generous Charleston volunteer must serve 17 years in a cell because he became hooked on crack cocaine. Rigid federal sentencing guidelines mandated the severe punishment for Levi Phillips, 50, once a Charleston High School and West Virginia University basketball hero, because he was caught three times with crack. US Judge Joseph Goodwin and federal prosecutors expressed regret at the cruel punishment. [continues 180 words]
War On Narcotics BELIEVE it or not, an American religious denomination has called for legalizing all narcotics, which would halt the billion-dollar national "war on drugs" and free hundreds of thousands of prison inmates. Meeting last week in Quebec City, the Unitarian Universalist Association passed a resolution saying: "Drug abuse issues are essentially matters for medical attention. We do not believe that drug use should be considered criminal behavior." It indicated that narcotics should be regulated through channels similar to those used for prescription drugs, alcohol and tobacco. [continues 94 words]
Every Thursday, Sandra Boggs meets with troubled Kanawha County students, their principal and their parents. She discusses the students' problems and possible solutions. Boggs noticed a trend with Kanawha County students: Many of their problems were drug-related. "When it comes to drug-related activities, there isn't a lot we can do [in the school system]," said Boggs, the county's director of student affairs and alternative schools. "I felt like we needed to address these problems in a different way or better way than we can handle." [continues 557 words]
A federal judge told members of the Charleston Rotary on Friday that he questions the fairness of the prison sentences calculated in federal criminal cases. "A person with a perfectly clean record will receive a mandatory sentence of five years for selling five grams of crack cocaine," US District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin said. "You can embezzle all of the money that you can get your hands on, $100 million or $200 million, and you'll serve as little as 12 and a half months." [continues 435 words]
The FBI has never ranked West Virginia among its most crucial assignments, and now plans to reassign 518 of its agents nationwide to combat terrorism. But U.S. Attorney Kasey Warner does not believe a retooled FBI and Department of Justice will spell an end to such local federal successes as the First National Bank of Keystone case. "I haven't heard that they're going to pull a bunch of our agents to send them to these so-called hotbeds," Warner said Thursday. "I don't think we'll see any immediate impact that will hamper our current law enforcement investigations." [continues 477 words]
Sergeant Fired; Captain Resigns The State Police on Friday fired the sergeant whose testing of suspected drug evidence prompted internal and FBI investigations of the crime lab's work. Timothy Grant White had been on paid leave since March, when Superintendent Howard Hill ordered the retesting of four months' worth of White's lab results. The chief of the entire crime lab, meanwhile, has resigned. Capt. Rick Theis also had been placed on paid leave for failing to tell Hill of a June 2001 lab report "discrepancy" that first raised suspicions about White's work. [continues 334 words]
'Suspicious Vial' Was a Toiletry Item Three black West Virginia State College students believe Charleston police used racial profiling and an out-of-state license tag as reasons to pull them over and harass them Tuesday night. Police, however, said they do not permit racial profiling and the officers were just doing their jobs because the men had raised their suspicions. No citations were issued to the driver, Courtney Shannon, 22, of Chicago. Police said he committed traffic violations, which led to the initial pullover on Washington Street near Interstate 64, just past the Greyhound bus station. [continues 611 words]
Southern West Virginia's top federal prosecutor agrees with President Bush that Americans put money in the pockets of international terrorists whenever they buy or sell drugs. "We need to realize - right now - the war on illicit drugs and the war on terrorism are inextricably linked," U.S. Attorney Kasey Warner said Friday. "In many respects, they are one and the same war." Warner's comments represent a major policy statement for his office, which oversees investigations and prosecutions for Southern West Virginia's federal court district. [continues 291 words]
Editor: If you are a parent, I hope you never have to watch your adolescent spiral out of control from drug addiction. Or face the day when you realize that if you don't take drastic action, she will never see her next birthday. One year ago, I had to face the reality. She had been to three different hospitals. I was out of options. Alldredge Academy saved my daughter's life. She spent four months at Alldredge Academy and is now attending boarding school. [continues 102 words]
To thwart a pending sexual harassment lawsuit, Putnam General Hospital is willing to admit that some of its staffers have smoked marijuana at work, according to a court filing from the hospital's lawyers. John D. Null alleges he was wrongly forced out as a lab technician at the hospital in November 1998. But the hospital now argues that it would have fired Null had it known about his drug use, the Friday filing in Putnam County Circuit Court said. "The defendants' position is that information regarding the plaintiff's drug usage on hospital property would have clearly resulted in his termination had they been aware of his activities," the filing said. [continues 339 words]
More Problems NOTHING is more sacred than the principle of trustworthy justice. Lives are at stake. When society sends a criminal suspect to prison, the public needs to feel sure that the evidence was accurate and the outcome was as fair as possible. That's why the Fred Zain scandal was so horrifying. The former State Police crime lab chief falsified test results to help obtain convictions, putting innocent men in prison on rape charges. When DNA tests proved their innocence, taxpayers coughed up millions to pay for false imprisonment. [continues 180 words]
