An unprecedented campaign began in Massachusetts this week to notify tens of thousands of people that they may no longer have a drug conviction on their record.
During the last couple of years, Massachusetts courts have dismissed more than 47,000 drug charges involving about 28,000 defendants.
The affected cases between 2003 and 2013 were tainted by the misconduct of two former chemists at state crime labs.
Using postcards and ads on radio, news websites, and social media, the notice campaign is an effort to let the people who were wrongly convicted know about it and make them aware of their rights.
WAMC’s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill spoke with Matthew Segal, the legal director for the ACLU of Massachusetts.