Man wrongfully convicted of murder awarded $3 million in lawsuit against former Boston police detective

A man was awarded $3 million after being wrongfully convicted for a 1994 murder and spending decades in prison because of police misconduct.

James Lucien sued former Boston police detective John Brazil after serving 26 years in prison for a murder he did not commit, according to the civil complaint. Lucien’s conviction was thrown out in 2021, and responsibility was placed on Brazil.

Lucien sued Brazil, other members of the Boston Police Department, and the city for violating due process, federal and state malicious prosecution, conspiracy to deprive constitutional rights, failure to intervene, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and civil conspiracy.

A judge chose to sequence the case into two lawsuits to try the claims against Brazil first and the claims against Brazil’s supervisors and the City of Boston second, according to Brazil’s lawyers at Loevy and Loevy. The second trial is expected to start on Jan. 4.

Lucien, who was 21 in 1994, was also wrongly convicted of armed robbery and unlawfully possessing a weapon in connection with the murder conviction, the complaint said.

On June 25, 1994, Ryan Edwards was fatally shot outside his vehicle while Lucien was in the backseat, the complaint said. Edwards lived long enough to tell police he was shot by someone outside his car.

Boston police used a false narrative from a man named Alford Clarke, Edwards’ drug dealer and half-brother, and hid that Clarke had told police he had a handgun which matched the caliber of bullet that killed Edwards, at the time of the murder, the complaint said.

“There was no legitimate evidence connecting” Lucien to the murder, the complaint said.

Brazil stole money that belonged to Edwards from the crime scene and did not collect Edwards’ clothes for evidence, the complaint said. Boston police also released Edwards’ car without testing it for gunshot residue.

To cover his misconduct, Brazil coached Clarke on what to say when testifying and offered Clarke, who was not a U.S. citizen, immigration assistance in exchange for his testimony, the complaint said.

“While under oath, Brazil lied about evidence he secured and held following the 1994 murder of Ryan Edwards,” the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office said after an investigation into two murder investigations conducted by Brazil and other police officers, including Edwards’. “Remarkably, his perjury was missed by both the prosecutor and defense attorney but recognized by the jury, who informed the trial judge that Brazil’s testimony was not – and could not be – consistent with the physical evidence submitted as exhibits during the trial.”

From 1990 to 1996, Brazil participated in a “sprawling corruption scheme” with Officers Kenneth Acerra, Walter Robinson, and John Mulligan in which they stole from drug dealers by submitting false warrant applications and keeping seized cash for themselves, the DA’s office said. They also lied about confidential informants and secured search warrants with fabricated information, prosecutors found.

During a federal investigation of their syndicate, Brazil was given immunity in exchange for his testimony against his counterparts. He served no jail time and is still collecting his pension from Boston police, the DA said.

“This verdict was an important first step in recognizing that James Lucien’s constitutional rights were violated because the Boston Police Department allowed officers like John Brazil to take whatever investigative steps he wanted to ‘solve; cases, without training, supervision, or accountability,” Brazil’s lawyers said in a statement. “Mr. Lucien’s case is an important example that real lives are harmed due to the BPD’s treatment of serious misconduct with impunity. We are heartened by the verdict against John Brazil, and we look forward to holding Brazil’s supervisors and the City of Boston accountable.”

Brazil’s lawyers, Joseph Donnellan and Brian Rogal, did not respond to a request for comment.