'Trial 4': What happened to corrupt Boston police involved in Sean Ellis case? Here's how Spotlight uncovered truth
Netflix's latest docuseries, 'Trial 4' focuses on the story of Sean Ellis, a Black man who was wrongfully convicted of the crime of murdering Boston Police Department's Detective John Mulligan in 1993. The eight-part docuseries features Sean Ellis as he faces his fourth trial — 25 years after he was first tried in 1995 — as he may end up going back to prison. Ellis had been previously sentenced to life after undergoing three trials in less than a year in 1995 and was released when new evidence came to light.
After his first three trials for armed robbery and first-degree murder, Ellis, aged 19 at the time, was found guilty in 1995 and sentenced to life. His first two trials resulted in a hung jury. In 2015, Ellis was freed from jail on bail, after a judge ordered a new trial saying evidence about how the case had been handled had been withheld from the defense.
A big part of Ellis getting another chance at justice came from a key investigation conducted by the reporters of The Boston Globe's award-winning Spotlight team. That name may sound familiar because of the 2015 film of the same name starring Mark Ruffalo and Rachel McAdams. In fact, the movie is about the same team that is part of the Boston newspaper and is known for its in-depth investigations. A 1996 report by the Spotlight team uncovered that Mulligan's colleagues, Detectives Kenneth Acerra, Walter Robinson, and John Brazil were involved in corrupt schemes on the job.
All three detectives proved to be corrupt cops who falsified search warrants to gain entry to the apartments of known drug dealers and illegal immigrants. Once in, they demanded money and drugs and, in exchange, either did not arrest the dealers or got their charges reduced. By not showing up for their scheduled court appearances, the officers extorted additional payments when the charges were dismissed. Additionally, it is important to note that it was Acerra's girlfriend's niece, Rosa Sanchez, who served as a key witness during Ellis's trial.
Further investigation revealed that the corrupt scheme had netted the corrupt cops hundreds of thousands of dollars and had gone on for over a decade -- before, during, and after the Mulligan murder and trials. In March 1997, Assistant US Attorney Ted Merritt indicted Acerra and Robinson on over 40 counts of perjury and armed robbery, while Brazil was granted immunity from prosecution in exchange for informing on his colleagues. Acerra and Robinson at first vigorously denied all charges, but a year later pleaded guilty in return for reduced sentences.
After the convictions, several cases involving the corrupt detectives began to fall apart. In one instance, Detective John Brazil was accused by the defendant in a murder case of falsifying a police report to ensure his conviction. It would seem that all three detectives preferred to stay away from the spotlight after the news of their corruption surfaced.
'Trial 4' is now streaming on Netflix.