Black man’s sentence tossed because of a racist lawyer
Richard Doyle, a court-appointed lawyer, for years made numerous racist comments on Facebook, leading to the recent vacating of Anthony Dew's sentence.
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court recently vacated the conviction of a Black Muslim man on the basis of racist comments made by his lawyer.
In 2016, Anthony Dew was sentenced to 10 years in prison for human trafficking, WBUR reported, but the highest court in the state learned that his now-late lawyer, Richard Doyle, posted racist remarks on social media and expressed racial bias in his treatment of Dew.
Dew was indicted in 2015 on 19 charges, including five trafficking counts and one of rape. Doyle was a court-appointed lawyer who, from 2014 to 2017, made numerous racist comments on his Facebook page.
“Indigent and facing multiple felony charges, the defendant was appointed counsel who openly posted, on his social media account, his vitriolic hatred of and bigotry against persons of the Muslim faith,” Massachusetts Supreme Court Justice Dalila Argaez Wendlandt wrote in the court’s unanimous decision. “His unabashed anti-Muslim rants were matched only by his equal scorn for and racism against Black persons.”
During one of their first meetings, Dew wore a kufi, which is a Muslim prayer cap, and Doyle told him to take it off, according to the Associated Press.
“Don’t come in this room like that ever,” Doyle reportedly said to his client.
Doyle passed away in 2021, WBUR noted, and that year, Dew found the derogatory Facebook posts his attorney had made about Muslims. He made a request for a new trial in 2022, but a lower court rejected it. When Dew’s motion went to the higher court, justices there decided that there were enough grounds to throw away his sentence.
He was released on parole on Thursday. The office of the Suffolk County district attorney is deciding whether or not to pursue a new trial.
“The anti-Muslim and racist sentiments expressed by this defense attorney are reprehensible,” said James Borghesani, Suffolk County district attorney spokesperson. “While we vigorously pursue convictions in every prosecution we bring forward, we recognize the societal imperative of effective and unbiased representation for all defendants.”
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