Judge Orders “Finality Must Yield” in Vacating 1974 Rape Conviction

DA Rollins assented to defense motion in light of Commonwealth’s failure to preserve evidence, victim’s uncertainty of ID

BOSTON, November 24, 2021—A Suffolk Superior Court judge yesterday vacated the conviction of TYRONE CLARK after Suffolk prosecutors assented to the defendant’s motion to vacate his rape conviction.  District Attorney Rachael Rollins filed a nolle prosequi today, formally ending the rape case against Mr. Clark.

The decision issued by Suffolk Superior Court Judge Christine Roach notes that there is no indication from the record that the critical evidence in question – biological material on an item of the victim’s clothing – was preserved by investigators in 1973.  In addition, the one piece of physical evidence that was maintained, a knife handle, was compromised by being touched throughout the decades, leading to inconclusive forensic testing.  Where the only forensic evidence that had the potential to exonerate Mr. Clark was inadvertently destroyed by the Commonwealth (or its agents), in combination with the victim coming forward with genuine concerns regarding the accuracy of her identification from nearly 50 years ago, the just result was to vacate the conviction.

“This case came to my office’s attention after the victim, unsolicited, raised serious doubts about her identification of the defendant. When we began looking further into the case, we learned that nearly half a century ago, the Commonwealth lost or destroyed evidence that had the potential to be exculpatory. Both the defendant and this administration have been denied the opportunity to perform modern forensic testing due the failure of previous administrations to maintain that DNA evidence.  The Commonwealth should never benefit from our failures and wrongdoings,” District Attorney Rollins said. 

“Prosecutors are, first and foremost, ministers of justice.  We must never prioritize finality over justice.  If we discover that the Commonwealth did not meet the high standard required of us, we must always act in the interests of justice.  That is exactly what we did here,” District Attorney Rollins said.

The motion in Clark was filed by Assistant District Attorney Donna Patalano, DA Rollins’s General Counsel, under the auspices of the Integrity Review Bureau.

Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins’ office serves the communities of Boston, Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop, Mass. The office handles over 20,000 cases a year. More than 160 attorneys in the office practice in nine district and municipal courts, Suffolk Superior Court, the Massachusetts Appeals Court, the Supreme Judicial Court, and the Boston Juvenile Courts. The office employs some 300 people and offers a wide range of services and programs to serve anyone who comes in contact with the criminal justice system. This office is committed to educating the public about the services we provide, our commitment to crime prevention, and our dedication to keeping the residents of Suffolk County safe.