DA ends case against man locked up for 37 years on Dorchester murder conviction after court ordered new trial
A Dorchester man who spent nearly four decades in prison for his alleged role in a murder was officially freed from suspicion today when the Suffolk County District Attorney's office said it would not seek to try him again.
In June, the Supreme Judicial Court ordered a new trial for Joseph Pope, who was convicted for his role in a 1984 drug-related murder in Uphams Corner - because an assistant Suffolk County district attorney withheld notes he took during the murder investigation that that might have helped the defense.
In a "nolle prosequi" filing today, current DA Kevin Hayden's office noted both that fact and the fact that Boston Police can no longer find the files and evidence related to Pope's conviction and that the homicide detectives who led the investigation are now dead, so they could not explain what might have happened with the information. Also, Pope is now 70 and served 37 years in prison. In a statement, Hayden said:
We had a responsibility in this case to look at all available information and evidence with full consideration of all parties involved, including the victim’s family, the trial witnesses and Mr. Pope. Having done so it is clear to us that moving forward with a new trial is not in the best interest of justice.
Pope was one of two men convicted for the shooting murder of Efrain DeJesus on Nonquit Street on May 23, 1984.
According to the SJC's summary of the case, the two men were charged with robbing and shooting DeJesus downstairs from his brother's apartment, over cocaine and money. Although the other man was convicted of actually shooting DeJesus, Pope was convicted of first-degree murder under a legal concept known as "felony-murder," in which he was judged to be just as guilty as the trigger puller because he was actively involved in planning and carrying out the crime that turned into a murder.
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Complete nolle-prosequi filing | 78.69 KB |
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Comments
The good news is...
If he owned a 75k Dot condo in 1984, its worth 1.25m today
Who is that good news for?
If he didn't keep up with the taxes and condo fees, it's probably not good news for him.
officially freed from
Really. Not so me thinks.