Jury awards James Lucien $3M in suit against ex-Boston police detective Brazil

BOSTON — A federal jury in Massachusetts has awarded $3 million to James Lucien, a man who was wrongfully convicted and sentenced to life in prison for murder, in his civil case against former Boston police detective John Brazil, who a judge said lied and tampered with evidence in the criminal case.

Lucien had been convicted of the 1994 killing of Ryan Edwards inside a car in Roxbury. The conviction was thrown out in 2021 after he spent 27 years in prison.

The judge who vacated the conviction placed responsibility on Brazil.

“The person to blame is the lead detective in this case, Detective Brazil,” the judge said at the time. “If he had been honest and if he had done his job correctly, we would not be here.”

Earlier this month, a federal jury awarded Lucien $3 million in his civil case against Brazil.

Mark Loevy-Reyes, Lucien’s attorney, said the evidence presented to the jury showed Brazil violated Lucien’s due process rights.

“We proved to a jury that John Brazil violated Mr. Lucien’s due process rights by both fabricating evidence against him and by withholding exculpatory evidence,” Loevy-Reyes said.

He said that evidence included that Brazil “admitted that he had lied repeatedly under oath as part of a long-term scheme in which his fellow detectives stole money from crime scenes.”

Loevy-Reyes also described how he said Brazil handled the investigation.

“So Brazil had two possible suspects, and he chose our client, and he built the case around him,” Loevy-Reyes said. “And when the evidence started to look like it wasn’t our guy, then he fabricated the evidence just to go after our client.”

The $3 million award may not be the end of Lucien’s legal action. He has a separate federal case pending against the city of Boston.

“The money itself doesn’t make up for it, but it certainly allows him to worry a little bit less,” Loevy-Reyes said. “He’s trying to rebuild his life. You know, he’s built a business. He is married.”

5 Investigates has previously reported on the $1 million cap on state-level wrongful conviction compensation claims. This award, however, came in federal court.

Brazil’s attorney referred 5 Investigates to the city of Boston, which said in a statement “…the City looks forward to fully resolving the case.”