Suffolk County DA Files Motion to Assent to New Trial for Man Sentenced to Life for 1973 Rape

Biological evidence not preserved and victim’s letter to parole board states she is unsure of her identification of defendant

BOSTON, Sept. 7, 2021— Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins’s office last week filed a motion to assent for a new trial for Tyrone Clark, who was sentenced to life in prison for a 1973 rape. 

DA Rollins’s Integrity Review Bureau was involved in reviewing the case, including a letter sent to the Parole Board by the victim who stated, “I am no longer absolutely sure that my identification was correct.”

In the filing, the Commonwealth notes that potentially exculpatory evidence – semen and the victim’s underwear – was lost or destroyed. “Where the only forensic evidence that had the potential to exonerate the Defendant was inadvertently destroyed by the Commonwealth (or its agents), the conviction should be vacated... The United States Constitution, the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights, and any sense of fairness calls for such a just outcome and, for this reason, the Commonwealth assents to the Defendant’s motion.”

DA Rollins said, “the Commonwealth should have maintained the evidence from the 1973 rape, but did not. Even then, nearly 50 years ago, forensic analysis of semen was used in other jurisdictions. It is likely that the biological evidence was destroyed or lost before Mr. Clark’s 1974 trial and for that reason he is entitled to a new trial. If a new trial is granted, we will then file a nolle prosequi.’’  The nolle prosequi would only be filed regarding the rape change.  None of his other convictions will be disturbed.

DA Rollins’s Integrity Review Bureau goes far beyond the work of the conviction integrity units operated by many other elected prosecutors across the country.  IRB is responsible for reviewing policies and practices at each stage of a prosecution through four program areas.  Case Integrity reviews sentinel events during a case such as a no bill by the grand jury, a judge granting a motion to suppress evidence, or a directed verdict. Conviction Integrity looks at post-conviction claims of innocence or wrongful convictions based on unconstitutional or unethical actions. Sentencing Integrity Pilot examines whether certain sentences have produced unjust results. And the recently announced Law Enforcement Automatic Discovery (LEAD) Database, includes law enforcement witnesses who have engaged in misconduct or whose credibility has been challenged by a court, administrative agency or other entity.  

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

Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins’ office serves the communities of Boston, Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop, Mass. The office handles some 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.