The Mass Dump

14/05/2025

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.”

James Carver spent 36 years in prison for allegedly setting one of the deadliest fires in Massachusetts history.

28/12/2024

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.

For decades, James Carver has maintained that he is innocent of setting a fire that killed 15 people — and now he is again innocent in the eyes of the law

19/12/2024

Civil asset forfeiture laws allow police and prosecutors to enrich themselves by seizing cash and cars with little due process — and Massachusetts has the weakest protections of any state.

Civil asset forfeiture laws allow police and prosecutors to enrich themselves by seizing cash and cars with little due process

10/12/2024

Two men were convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison — one was guilty and the other innocent, but for years, they supported each other behind the walls of the state prison in Norfolk, Massachusetts. And for the past decade, their shared love of running has helped free other people who were wrongfully convicted.

Advocates in Massachusetts celebrate 10 years of using running to help free wrongfully convicted people from prison

25/11/2024

I was featured on NBC10's new "Commonwealth Confidential" series to explain how the Massachusetts State Police get away with not complying with public records requests and what can be done to fix this problem.

Will anyone ever hold the Mass State Police accountable for hiding information from the public?

29/10/2024

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.

Full story linked in the comments.

18/09/2024

After the murder of George Floyd in 2020, Massachusetts passed historic police certification reform. But even with the POST Commission, the public can't see which cops have been part of the "officer shuffle."

Link to the full story in the comments.

05/09/2024

Eleven years now.

Denis Reynoso needed help. Instead, a Lynn police officer shot him to death in his home in front of his five-year-old son.

28/08/2024

A former Stoughton police officer was arrested Wednesday in connection with the death of Sandra Birchmore, who he is accused of grooming when she was a teen girl.

Federal authorities wrote in an indictment that the police officer killed Birchmore while she was pregnant, that she told him he was the father, and that he staged her killing to look like a su***de.

A Massachusetts police officer was arrested in connection with the death of a woman the police department says he had an "inappropriate physical relationship" with when she was a teen.

05/08/2024

Boston police exposed a man's ge****ls in public in front of a preschool.

The Massachusetts Appeals Court ruled today that Suffolk County prosecutors can't use the drugs police say they found hidden in a packet under a man's ge****ls as evidence against him, because the officers conducted their strip search on the side of Norfolk Street in broad daylight rather than first...

01/08/2024

James Carver has spent decades in prison for setting a deadly fire in Beverly, Massachusetts. However, his lawyers say scientific evidence proves he is innocent.

I discussed the case on The Young Jurks last night. Watch the interview here.

James Carver was sentenced to life in prison for setting a deadly fire. Is he innocent?

05/07/2024

July 4th was the 40th anniversary of one of Massachusetts's deadliest fires — the legacy of which is still with us all these decades later.

LINK: https://andrewqmr.substack.com/p/elliott-chambers-fire-40th-anniversary