A federal jury in Massachusetts has awarded James Lucien $3 million in his civil case against former Boston police detective John Brazil, closing out one chapter of a legal saga that began with a 1994 killing in Roxbury and a conviction that took decades to unwind. Lucien was found guilty of murdering Ryan Edwards inside a car and was sentenced to life in prison, a sentence that kept him locked up for 27 years before the case against him fell apart.
The verdict, reached last Wednesday, October 14, capped a civil suit filed in Massachusetts federal court under the case name Lucien v. Brazil, according to court filings tracked by PacerMonitor. As WCVB reported, Lucien’s murder and robbery convictions were vacated in 2021 after he had already spent 27 years behind bars, and his related firearm conviction was vacated two years later, in 2023, according to Law360.
A Judge Pointed Directly at the Detective
When Lucien’s conviction was thrown out, the judge did not mince words about who was responsible. Per the same WCVB report, the judge said the lead detective on the case, Brazil, was to blame, and that honesty and proper police work would have prevented the wrongful outcome in the first place. That finding echoed what the station described as a broader pattern laid out in earlier proceedings, including testimony Brazil gave under immunity back in 1998, when he described falsifying search warrants, fabricating informants and lying about surveillance of suspects, according to the station’s report.
Lucien’s attorney, Mark Loevy-Reyes, told WCVB that the evidence presented to the jury showed Brazil violated Lucien’s due process rights by fabricating evidence against him and withholding evidence that could have cleared him. Loevy-Reyes said Brazil had two possible suspects early on, chose Lucien, and built the case around him, then fabricated evidence as the facts began to look inconsistent with Lucien’s guilt. The attorney also said Brazil had admitted to repeatedly lying under oath as part of what he described as a long-term scheme in which fellow detectives stole money from crime scenes.
Rebuilding a Life After 27 Years
Loevy-Reyes was candid about what the jury’s award can and cannot do for his client. He said the money does not make up for what Lucien went through, but that it does allow him to worry less going forward. According to the same report, Lucien is trying to rebuild his life, has built a business, and is married…