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Massachusetts man wrongfully imprisoned for 27 years sues state for $1 million

James Lucien, 50, was indicted in 1994 on falsified evidence, orchestrated by a "disgraced" Boston police detective.

James Lucien is embraced by a family member as he walks out of Suffolk Superior Court in Boston as a free man on December 7, 2021. Photo by Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

By Molly Farrar

February 26, 2024

1 minute to read

A Massachusetts man who spent more than 26 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit is suing the state for $1 million, court documents show.

James Lucien, 50, was exonerated in 2021 and released from prison when a judge threw out the murder and armed robbery charges against him. He was 22 when he was arrested in 1994 and had a 3-year-old son.

“He spent the prime years of his life incarcerated in harsh conditions, facing physical and emotional threats. He lost invaluable time and experience with his family,” the complaint said. “The harms his wrongful conviction have caused him – emotional, physical, and otherwise – have been profound and can never be fully compensated.”

In 1994, 23-year-old Ryan Edwards was shot and killed in his car, and Lucien was in the backseat. According to the complaint, physical evidence clearly showed the gunshot came from outside the car.

Investigators, notably “disgraced” former Boston Police Detective John Brazil, tampered with evidence to make it appear that Lucien robbed and shot Edwards, the complaint said.

Brazil also destroyed physical evidence and, per his MO at the time, attempted to shake down a drug dealer to frame Lucien and steal his money, court documents show.

Brazil was part of a “sprawling corruption scheme” from 1990 through 1996, where officers would submit false warrants to steal money and drugs from people involved with drug conspiracy, according to the DA. Brazil, who was implicated in the wrongful conviction of Sean Ellis, was investigated by the Suffolk County District Attorney in 2022.

Lucien was sentenced to life in prison, where the complaint says he stayed in “harsh and dangerous” maximum security prisons and had insufficient access to health care.

In 2021, the murder and attempted robbery convictions were overturned without a trial, and in 2023, the firearm charge was vacated.