Victims or Victimizers? Baker Urges Pardon for 1980s Conviction

Above, 1986 courtroom image of Gerald Amirault. (Digital Commonwealth image)

Gov. Charlie Baker on Friday continued his lame-duck streak of recommending pardons and commutations, proposing that a convicted murderer once sentenced to death be made eligible for parole and urging a fresh look at convictions stemming from a high-profile child care center molestation case from 35 years ago.

Before he leaves office, Baker wants the Governor's Council to revisit one of the nation's most highly charged and disputed abuse cases of the 1980s with recommended pardons for Gerald "Tooky" Amirault and Cheryl Amirault LeFave, who were convicted of sexually abusing young children at their family's Fells Acres day care center in Malden.

The Amiraults were tried and convicted of child molestation in the Fells Acres abuse case of the mid-1980s, but Baker said Friday that the proceedings "took place without the benefit of scientific studies that have in the intervening years led to widespread adoption of investigative protocols designed to protect objectivity and reliability in the investigation of child sex abuse cases."

At one point, Judge Isaac Borenstein, granted two separate motions for new trials, according to Wikipedia.  Borenstein ruled that the children's interrogations were so tainted by "grave errors" in the investigation process that they could not be used in any new trial. He explained that:

These grave errors led to the testimony of the children being forever tainted. The only allegations made by the child witnesses occurred after they were subjected to the admittedly suggestive interviews, and investigative techniques, as well as inappropriate - even if understandable - influence by their families. Moreover, neither behavioral symptoms nor physical evidence which may be consistent with child sexual abuse were revealed until after the children and their families were subjected to these improper interviewing and investigative techniques. These alleged symptoms were only discussed after the families were overwhelmed by the panic, hysteria and media attention that snowballed this case into national headlines and widespread concern about ritualistic sexual abuse of children.[9

The Amiraults have maintained their innocence and their cases led to bitter debate over the methods used at the time to interview suspected child victims.

"Given the absence of these protections in these cases, and like many others who have reviewed the record of these convictions over the years, including legal experts, social scientists and even several judges charged with reviewing the cases, I am left with grave doubt regarding the evidentiary strength of these convictions," the governor said. "As measured by the standard we require of our system of justice, Gerald Amirault and Cheryl Amirault Lefave ought to be pardoned."

Gerald Amirault was convicted in 1986 of eight counts of child rape and seven counts of indecent assault and battery of a child, and was sentenced to 30 to 40 years in prison. He received the unanimous support of the state's five-member Parole Board in 2002 for a commutation of his sentence, but Gov. Jane Swift rejected the board's recommendation. Gerald Amirault was released on parole from the Bay State Correctional Center in Norfolk in 2004.

Cheryl Amirault LeFave served eight years in prison and was released on bail in 1995 when a judge ruled in favor of a new trial for her. She later reached an agreement with Middlesex District Attorney Martha Coakley to avoid returning to jail when her convictions were reinstated.

Baker's office included in its announcement of the pardons a statement of approval from former Attorney General Tom Reilly, who fought as Middlesex district attorney in the 1990s to keep the Amiraults and their mother in prison.

"While I stand behind the decisions made at the time by the prosecutors, judge and jury, I believe the Governor's decision is a fitting end to a very troubled case," Reilly said.

Among those who questioned whether justice was truly served in the Amirault case was the late Barbara Anderson of Citizens for Limited Taxation, who wrote in her final newspaper column that Baker had "promised my friend Gerald Amirault and his family that getting Gerald off parole and his ankle bracelet would be a first order of business." She said that Baker keeping his promise was her "dying wish."

The governor on Friday also announced pardons for Brian Morin, Camille Joseph Chaisson, Michael Biagini and Robert Busa. Baker's office released a detailed report on each those four pardons, but did not release the same kind of information related to the Amirault pardons because those were not recommended by the Advisory Board of Pardons as the other four were.

Baker also commuted the first-degree murder sentence of Ramadan Shabazz to second-degree murder, which his office said would make the 72-year-old once sentenced to death immediately eligible for parole if the commutation is approved by the Governor's Council.

Baker said he hopes the Governor's Council will "consider each of these cases carefully."

The Governor's Council signed off on the state's first commutations since 2014 in February after Baker had proposed commutations for Thomas Koonce and William Allen, who each served roughly 30 years of life sentences without the possibility of parole following first-degree murder convictions.

Shabazz was found guilty in 1972 of the murders of Harry Jeffreys and Calvin Thorn in Dorchester. He was sentenced to death, but his sentence was changed to life in prison when the Supreme Judicial Court in 1976 ruled the death penalty unconstitutional.

"Mr. Shabazz's crime was horrific, but he has not only taken full responsibility for his actions but has also dedicated his life in prison to bettering himself and serving as a mentor to others in prison," Baker said in a statement. "Commutation serves as a strong motivation for an incarcerated individual to improve themselves, and Mr. Shabazz serves as a remarkable example of self-development for other incarcerated individuals."

During his 50 years in prison, the governor's office said, Shabazz participated in more than 50 rehabilitative programs like addiction treatment and anger management, and has worked as a GED tutor and drug counselor to mentor young incarcerated men.

"He obtained both his Bachelor's and Master's Degree through Boston University's prison education program. He successfully completed 48 furloughs before the program was terminated. He has been employed consistently during his time incarcerated, working jobs from kitchen services to law library clerk," the administration said.

In its capacity as the Advisory Board of Pardons, the Parole Board recently recommended Shabazz's commutation, the governor's office said.