Margo Nash
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I am a retired attorney who practiced law in Massachusetts for over thirty years. In 1995 I was appointed to the Eddie O'Brien case to act as Eddie's guardian ad litem. Eddie was charged with the murder of his best friend's mother, Janet Downing. He was 15 years old.
I got to know Eddie and his family well over the course of the two years that the case was being litigated, first in the juvenile court and then in the Middlesex Superior Court. Eddie was convicted of first degree murder. I knew then, and I am convinced now, that Eddie was the victim of a confluence of political and legal agendas which were being advanced by some of the highest elected political officials in the Commonwealth. I did not know then the extent to which these events converged to convict him of a crime he did not commit. In 2015, at the twentieth anniversary of Eddie’s continued incarceration, I made a commitment to Eddie to write this book.
I was in a unique position to do it because I had access to all of his legal files, had attended all of his hearings and trials, and remained involved in the case over the last 21 years. My review of the entire file, transcripts, lab reports, police reports, correspondence, tapes, and related evidentiary material led me to the conclusion that the failure of the judicial system, the political agenda of politicians, and a painfully unprepared defense counsel were to blame for Eddie's wrongful conviction and the loss of 21 years of his life. With this book, I invite the public to decide for themselves whether Eddie was wrongfully convicted of a murder he did not commit. |
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