An unprecedented effort began in Massachusetts this week to notify tens of thousands of people that they were wrongly convicted as a result of two drug lab scandals.
In addition to postcards, ads will run on radio, news websites, and social media in a campaign aimed at reaching the more than 47,000 people who had their criminal convictions vacated because of misconduct by former drug lab chemists Annie Dookhan and Sonja Farak.
Matt Segal, legal director for the ACLU of Massachusetts said most of the people affected have already served their sentences, but continue to face collateral consequences.
"With a record it is harder to get a job, an apartment, a student loan -- almost anything you could want or need to rebuild your life," said Segal.
The state’s highest court in a 2018 ruling ordered the state Attorney General’s office to pay for the notice campaign.
