This petition is on behalf of Lazell Cook, an innocent man, who has been wrongfully convicted of murder and robbery twenty-one years ago. He now sits in prison with a double life sentence without possibility of parole.

One of the main grievances of this petition is that the commonwealth of Massachusetts knows the person who committed the crime; yet, Lazell was still tried under a Joint Venture law, in which he was convicted without any evidence that he committed a crime or agreed with anyone to commit a crime.

Recently new facts have surfaced shedding light on Lazell’s wrongful conviction. Evidence of how the police coerced a witness to falsely implicate Lazell in the crime. This witness has since written an affidavit recanting his statement. In his statement, he explains the misconduct that took place during the investigation.

There is also evidence of jury tampering in his case. A juror was influenced by an outside source of one of the victims.

If these issues were argued in court, it would be enough to overturn his conviction. Yet the judge has denied him due process by denying him access to the courts. She has denied all his motions. Leaving Lazell and his lawyer baffled.

At this point, we have no where else to turn. We need someone to look into these issues and confront the court. This is an injustice. We're asking for your support.

Sign the petition for the cause.