You know the Benjamin LaGuer case is heating up when the famously press averse John Conte comes out of the shadows. He spoke to the T&G’s Matthew Bruun to twist and distort the record in a case the SJC recently agreed to review. Read today’s article here or here.
The Worcester DA told the T&G:
âWe never knew about additional prints other than the one that was in the trial,â Mr. Conte said. âNothing was ever withheld.â
At issue is why a report showing that a set of four fingerprints retrieved from a key piece of evidence DID NOT MATCH LaGuer’s were hidden from the defense for 18 years. Who does DA Conte think he’s fooling?
The point is that a prosecutor not knowing about an exculpatory fingerprint report in no way relieves the Commonwealth of a fundamental obligation to share potentially exculpatory information with the defense. If the District Attorney does not know this, then everyone in Worcester County is in deep trouble.
This is only the tip of the iceberg in a pattern of prosecutorial misconduct that has plagued this case. Maybe it will finally have a chance to come out.
This is a case that deserves close attention. Stay Tuned!
