Appeal puts justice system on trial

Wednesday, February 02, 2005

 

 

By NATALIA MUNOZ

He is wearing a red paisley bow tie, his large, dark brown eyes warm with humor, his smile easy. He's bright and appears confident. You could say that this is the kind of guy destined to make the world a better place.

Only Benjamín LaGuer is talking from prison, where he is serving a life sentence for raping a 59-year-old Leominster woman over the course of eight hours. In the video shot behind bars, LaGuer is in his 20s. He was convicted in 1984 by an all-white jury, at least one of whom, according to an affidavit, reportedly referred to LaGuer as a "spic" and branded him guilty, saying that such monstrous behavior is to be expected of Puerto Ricans.

Now 41, he has never stopped proclaiming his innocence. Two years ago, LaGuer could've walked out of the Massachusetts Correctional Institution in Norfolk had he only proclaimed his guilt before the Parole Board. He refused.

He maintains that he is the victim of mistaken identity. The rape victim, who died in 1999, had a history of schizophrenia. For half his life he has diligently pursued appeals based on the alleged mishandling of evidence, the surprise appearance of certain evidence, on the fact a judge who denied him a new trial in 2004 had years before counseled the rape victim's family.

But the wheels of justice turn slowly and keep running him over, denying him the chance to have a new trial. A new appeals process now in motion will take a year to result in a conclusion.

LaGuer is not the only prisoner in Massachusetts to deny the crimes he was convicted of committing. Four years ago Eduardo Velázquez - also known as Angel Hernández - also said he was doing the time without doing the crime. He was freed after DNA testing proved he did not rape a woman in Chicopee in 1987.

For LaGuer, science complicated his case. Three years ago, his DNA test matched evidence in police custody. He said the test results proved police planted evidence. A forensics expert wrote that the "minuscule" traces of his DNA could be deemed contaminated.

Velázquez was one of six people in Massachusetts and about 100 nationwide cleared in 2001 through DNA evidence. But for every one cleared, there is another like LaGuer serving time.

Before finally getting a judge to agree to provide a court-appointed lawyer, Velázquez had little support in his drive. LaGuer's advocates, on the other hand, have included Noam Chomsky; Boston University President Emeritus John Silber; a couple of Boston city councilors; several state lawmakers, including Reps. Benjamin Swan, D-Springfield, and Ellen Story, D-Amherst; his lawyer James C. Rehnquist, son of U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist; and local freelance writer Eric Goldscheider, who had once been LaGuer's writing teacher in prison and has been researching the case for a possible book.

LaGuer's is one of the most sophisticated appeal cases in recent memory. He has a multi-linked Web site. Twice he has been the focus of sympathetic documentaries. Several times he has been the subject of long articles in celebrated magazines and newspapers.

In 2003 Story and five other lawmakers requested that the head of the State Police Crime Laboratory address questions surrounding the handling of evidence. Nothing ever resulted from their letter.

A couple of weeks ago Goldscheider requested more information from Worcester District Attorney John J. Conte through the Freedom of Information Act. Goldscheider, a grandchild of Holocaust victims who committed suicide, is certain of LaGuer's innocence, and signs of injustice resonate with him.

Advocates say LaGuer is being denied a chance to prove himself because the case puts justice itself on trial.

"I have no idea if Benjamin is innocent or guilty," Story said after seeking the release of evidence. "But what is completely clear are the irregularities that have put him in prison, and it's only fair to give him a new trial."

Natalia Muñoz can be reached at nmunoz@repub. com