A 10-year path to freedom

The chain of events that led to the Essex County Superior Court vacating the guilty verdict in a murder that was committed 21 years ago is astounding enough.But, says Florence Graves of the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism out of Brandeis University, what?s even more astounding is the chain of events that led to Angel Echavarria?s conviction, and a mandatory life sentence, in 1996.There were so many aspects of the case that just could not stand the scrutiny of her group, part of whose focus is to re-examine court cases in which the possibility of wrongful convictions exists, Graves said.Graves founded the institute in late 2004, and “part of my plan was to have one of the focuses be to look at likely wrongful convictions,” she said.Graves? group partnered up with the Innocence Project, which led her to the Echavarria case. “They sent us two cases, and Angel?s was the first,” she said. “And we accepted.”That led the institute through a myriad of issues, starting with the absence of DNA, continuing with what Graves considers incompetent legal representation, and, perhaps most important, the fact that Echavarria was misidentified by a witness.The DNA – or lack of it – helped move the process along. Lynn?s Daniel Rodriguez was murdered in 1994, before DNA was used as a matter of course, she said.?Over time,” she said, “DNA science has improved dramatically.”In 2008, Echavarria?s new attorney, Leslie O?Brien, asked the group to check the DNA on a telephone cord that was allegedly used to tie up a witness. Investigators from the institute checked both ends of the cord for DNA, and nothing that could tie it to Echavarria, Graves said.?It ruled him out completely,” she said.Then, there was Attorney Charles Robson, who represented Echavarria at his trial. He?d been recommended to Echavarria, and Graves said if he had gone the public defender route, “he would have had much better representation.?But,” she said, “he was young, could speak hardly any English, and never thought he?d ever be involved in something like this. He didn?t understand what was happening to him.”Robson, at the time, was under investigation on several complaints about his representation (he was subsequently suspended from practicing law for three years).Most damaging to Echavarria at the time was a witness?s misidentification in the days after the murder. The brother of the victim, Isidorio Rodriguez, said he recognized Echavarria as having committed the crime.But there are two things wrong with that, she said. First, the witness?s description of the murderer does not jibe with Echavarria?s appearance at the time.?(Isidorio) described him as being stocky and with no facial hair, when, at the time, Angel was about 5-11 and 135 pounds. He was practically emaciated. And, he had facial hair.”Then, there was a question of dialect. The victim?s brother said on more than one occasion that the murderer and his companion were Puerto Rican.?Angel is Dominican,” Graves said. “And just like your New England accent and my Texas accent, the dialects are different. We had a language expert testify in court, and he said that just on that basis alone, the case should have been dismissed. There was enough dialogue going on for him to be able to tell the difference.”After he heard all the evidence, Judge David Lowry overturned the verdict on April 30, and Echavarria was freed May 18. Monday, District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett announced his office would not retry him, and Tuesday Echavarria had the ankle bracelet/GPS monitor he?d been wearing since being released from prison removed.And that created a myriad of different issues, and Swampscott?s Mary McCarrison took the lead in helping Echavarria iron those out.McCarrison befriended Anne Driscoll, who did much of the research on the case as a member of the Innocence Project (and who is working on cases in Ireland). When Driscoll left for Ireland, she asked McCarriston to step in and help.?I?d always wanted to be on this