Milford State Rep. Recognized by National Innocence Project

Massachusetts State Rep. John V. Fernandes (D-Milford) has been recognized by the National Innocence Project for working to “ensure the accuracy of integrity of the criminal justice process,” according to an announcement Monday from Fernandes’s office.

Fernandes was specifically recognized for his successful sponsorship of legislation to provide access to scientific and forensic analysis, which made Massachusetts eligible for federal funding for crime labs, according to the announcement.

The Innocence Project, a national litigation and public policy organization, found the legislation to be “one of the strongest post-conviction DNA testing laws in the nation,” one that also received support from a Boston Bar Association task force that comprised prosecutors, defense attorneys and members of law enforcement.

“It is just wrong that people remain in prison who have not committed a crime,” Fernandes said in a statement. “We hold freedom highest among the rights we cherish. If there is something I have found in my 30 years of law practice, it is that prosecutors, judges, defense counsel, juries, they all want to get it right at the end. The public wants to get it right and we have an opportunity to get it right.”

The bill also received support from the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, as well as Major (Ret.) James Connolly, then Director of the Massachusetts State Crime Lab. Betty Anne Waters, the subject of the movie “Conviction,” as well as Dennis Maher, who served 19 years in prison for crimes he didn’t commit before DNA evidence exonerated him, also testified in favor of the legislation, according to the announcement.