But I remember being terrified, sitting outside the courthouse hysterically crying. And now, three state prosecutors who investigated Farak are under investigation themselves by the states Board of Bar Overseers for their early handling of evidence. Former Massachusetts crime lab chemist Sonja Farak, left, during her arraignment in 2013. Kaczmarek argued the findings are subject to appeal. Sonja Farak, left, stands during her arraignment at Eastern Hampshire District Court in Belchertown, Mass. She received an 18-month jail sentence. The civil lawsuit was one of the last tied to prosecutors' disputed handling of the case against disgraced ex-chemist Sonja Farak, who was convicted in 2014 of ingesting drug samples she was. ", "She isn't on drugs anymore, and I think that that is incredible," Carr, who also directed the true-crime documentaries. Her mother and sister seem to show no empathy for anyone involved in the cases of Sonja Farak, and only seem to be concerned with how the . In a sweeping decision issued on Thursday, Oct. 11, the Supreme Judicial Court dismissed with prejudice every methamphetamine-related conviction from the nine years that former chemist Sonja Farak worked at the Amherst lab, as well as all cases involving drug tests from that lab from Jan. 1, 2009 through Jan. 18, 2013. GBH News brings you the stories, local voices, and big ideas that shape our world. As a teenager, she had attempted suicide. I mean she could have been my client. After high school, Sonja went on to major in biochemistry at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute in western Massachusetts. I think I make a strong case and advocate that humans are fallible and she needs to be given a second chance, but thats an unpopular opinion, and I can't control how the public reacts to it.. When Farak was arrested,former Attorney General Martha Coakley told the public investigators believed Farak tampered with drugs at the lab for only a few months. By some accounts, she is 68 years old. Any uncashed checks will be distributed to Community Legal Aid, Inc., the Transformational Prison Project, and the Tufts Education Reentry Network program after one year. You know, no special treatment.. "She isn't on drugs anymore, and I think that that is incredible," Carr, who also directed the true-crime documentaries "I Love You, Now Die" and "Mommy Dead and Dearest," told Womens Health. Directed by Erin Lee Carr, How to Fix a Drug Scandal released in April 2020 on Netflix. From the start, we have recognized that defendants with vacated convictions should be refunded and are pleased to have engaged in a collaborative effort to reach a fair and efficient resolution for all involved.. Sonja Farak (left) leaving the courthouse with her lawyer. The Netflix show highlights not only the arrest and trial of Farak, but also the missteps taken by the state to ignore the extent of the cases affected by Faraks actions. The four-part Netflix series goes deep into the story of a man named Rolando Penate, a case Farak had handled at the lab. Sonja Farak in court in 2014.. She tested . Personal life. Ex-Chemist In Massachusetts Was High On Drugs At Work For 8 Years Though Farak was arrested in 2013 and sentenced to jail in 2014, the findings from the state's investigation into the scope of her misconduct were just released Tuesday. She has since been one of 18 defendants facing a lawsuit by Rolando Penate, who claims they. After their arrests, prosecutors at the Massachusetts Attorney Generals office then tried to sweep their crimes under the rug without addressing how their actions affected the defendants who were convicted based on their drug testing. 3 Farak Defendants. . Asked what she thought Farak would want the public to know now, Carr says, "I think that she cares about [the idea] that addiction doesn't always look the same on everybody, and I think that she really struggled with letting people down. Deborah Becker Twitter Host/ReporterDeborah Becker is a senior correspondent and host at WBUR. The people who were involved in this will finally get justice, Westcott said. On top of that, it was also ensured that no analyst would ever work without supervision. I think that she was so adept at hiding her addiction for so long, her downfall sort of came as a surprise to her and to everybody.". Harmony's brother Jamison asks about her often, the parents say. Where Is Sonja Farak From 'How To Fix A Drug Scandal' Now? - Women's Health She began working there in 2004 and enjoyed that it was more laid back than the job at Hinton. Farak testified that she started off trying meth in the lab because she was "curious. She admitted that back in college shed research drugs and noted that meth sounded like one she was particularly interested in trying. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! The four-episode documentary series centers around the Massachusetts drug lab crisis that came to light a few years ago. Eight Years Later, Fallout From The Massachusetts Drug Lab Scandal More than 24,000 convictions have been overturned as a result of her case. According to an Attorney General Offices report, Farak attended Temple University in Philadelphia for graduate school, which is where she became a recreational drug user. While I certainly think her longstanding refusal to acknowledge what she was doing comprised the rights of lots of people, I have sympathy for a human being who is struggling with a very difficult addiction, he said.