“Hundreds of cases, not thousands of cases.” 
 
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 Even if district attorneys keep 1,000 of the convictions intact, that would be less than 5 percent of the statewide total of approximately 24,000. Dookhan, who was responsible for testing drugs in about 40,000 cases at the former Hinton laboratory in Jamaica Plain from 2003 to 2012, admitted to more than two dozen charges of tampering with evidence and fabricating results. She served three years in prison, for perjury and evidence-tampering, before she was released on parole last year. Their answer, due by April 18, is expected to be "in the hundreds," a spokeswoman for Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan said this week. Advertisement 
 
 The court made clear that prosecutors were to “reduce substantially” the number of defendants who might challenge their convictions because of Dookhan’s crimes. “Even the possibility that this might happen means that anyone who cares about criminal justice in Massachusetts ought to be paying attention to April 18,” said Matthew Segal, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, whose clients’ lawsuit led to the SJC ruling. A special drug lab session handled motions by drug defendants whose cases were handled by chemist Annie Dookhan. For all undismissed cases, the district attorneys must certify they could prove the defendant’s guilt without using evidence that was tainted by Dookhan’s dubious testing or testimony.
– It's been five years since former Massachusetts State Police chemist Annie Dookhan pleaded guilty to tampering with evidence while working on tens of thousands of criminal cases. But 24,000 people left with questionable convictions as a result of her fraud are still waiting to see if their names will be cleared. Not for much longer, though. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has until April 18 to decide who among the group will be re-prosecuted without evidence touched by Dookhan. And though prosecutors are still deciding on cases, a rep for the Middlesex County District Attorney says the number of convictions that will be kept on the books will likely be "in the hundreds," per NBC News. In other words, more than 95% of them will be vacated, reports the Boston Globe. "There are no words for it … It's absolutely stunning," says a member of the National Commission of Forensic Science. While this means some who did commit crimes may see their convictions overturned, it also means those wrongfully convicted will finally get justice, including non-citizens who've been threatened with deportation, defense lawyers say. The ACLU of Massachusetts says that about 90% of the convictions are for misdemeanors or minor felonies, usually involving drug possession, and that most defendants have already finished their sentences. Dookhan herself was paroled last year. (Click for more on the scandal.)