Sign up for the Today newsletter
Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.
DA’s office taps Whitey Bulger’s former attorney to prosecute Karen Read the second time around
“Ms. Read will receive the dignity and fairness that every defendant deserves in our criminal justice system,” Hank Brennan said Wednesday.
The Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office has tapped a veteran criminal defense attorney to lead prosecutors’ retrial of Karen Read, DA Michael Morrissey announced Wednesday.
Hank Brennan will serve as special assistant district attorney on the highly anticipated retrial, which is scheduled to begin Jan. 27.
“Attorney Brennan is a highly respected and skilled former prosecutor and long-time defense attorney with over 25 years of experience in state and federal courts and has expertise handling complex law enforcement matters,” Morrissey said in a statement. “I look forward to Attorney Brennan working in concert with the trial team of Assistant District Attorneys Adam Lally, Laura McLaughlin, and Caleb Schillinger.”
More on Karen Read:
Lally and McLaughlin led the prosecution during Read’s first trial, which ended in a mistrial July 1 after the jury returned deadlocked. Read, 44, is accused of intentionally backing her SUV into her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe, following a night of bar-hopping in Canton in January 2022.
Advertisement:
Her lawyers say she was framed in a widespread coverup, alleging O’Keefe was severely beaten after walking into a house party on Fairview Road. He was found unresponsive in the snow the following morning.
The sensational case has drawn national attention and brought increased scrutiny to both the Massachusetts State Police, which led the investigation into O’Keefe’s death, as well as the Norfolk DA’s office, which prosecuted Read on charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating a motor vehicle under the influence, and leaving the scene of a fatal accident.
Read is now seeking to dismiss two of those charges, alleging the supposedly deadlocked jury internally agreed to acquit her of murder and leaving the scene of a fatal accident prior to the mistrial.
A seasoned defense attorney, Brennan was once a prosecutor in Essex and Suffolk counties, according to Suffolk University Law School, where he now serves as an adjunct professor. Brennan also shot to national prominence as one of James “Whitey” Bulger’s defense attorneys in his South Boston trial.
Advertisement:
More recently, Brennan represented a retired surgeon who was arrested after police in Nantucket allegedly found drugs and guns onboard his yacht last year. Brennan’s client ultimately entered a plea agreement with prosecutors before the case went to trial.
“I assume full responsibility and all obligations for prosecuting this case and will do so meticulously, ethically, and zealously, without compromise,” Brennan said of his appointment in the Read case.
He said he has two “core obligations” for the retrial.
“The first is to make certain that Karen Read receives a fair trial. Ms. Read will receive the dignity and fairness that every defendant deserves in our criminal justice system,” Brennan said. “The second is to ensure that the facts surrounding John O’Keefe’s death are fully and fairly aired in the courtroom without outside influence. I guarantee that I will work tirelessly with the trial team to prepare this case for trial in January of 2025.”
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com