Life Sentence Vacated For Man Who Spent 41 Years In Shirley Prison

After spending more than 40 years in a Shirley prison, Raymond Champagne had his life sentence vacated Tuesday by a judge who allowed the motion for a new trial.

Champagne was convicted in 1979 for participating in the 1978 stabbing death of Stephen L. Curvin while an inmate at the Massachusetts Correction Institution at Cedar Junction in Walpole. He steadfastly maintained his innocence, but was given a life sentence and sent to the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center, which straddles the Lancaster town line.

Lisa Kavanaugh, the director of the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS) Innocence Program, took on Champagne's case in October. She filed a motion for new trial, citing newly discovered evidence that cast doubt on the conviction.

In the motion, Kavanaugh argued that fellow SBCC inmate Ronald Roberts, whose testimony contributed to Champagne's conviction, gave false information to authorities. She alleged that he was lying when he told authorities that bloodstained pants found in Champagne's cell belonged to Champagne. Kavanaugh cited a 1980 incident where Roberts was accused of threatening another inmate and saying, “while in Walpole, he stabbed a guy and then gave the bloody pants to another guy and blamed him," according to court papers filed in Norfolk Superior Court.

Assistant District Attorney for Norfolk County, Pamela Alford, did not oppose the defendant’s motion for a new trial. “The Commonwealth believes that the impeachment evidence could have been a real factor in the jury’s deliberations,” Alford wrote in a response to the motion.

The Supreme Judicial Court, which upheld his original conviction in 1987, twice noted that the evidence against Champagne, which came from informants, was “unquestionably thin,” according to Kavanaugh.

Judge Thomas Connors allowed the motion for a new trial, and Champagne walked out of court Tuesday surrounded by supporters and attorneys from the Prisoners’ Legal Services.

Champagne declined to discuss the case in detail, saying only, “I am deeply grateful for my attorney’s help on my case.” The Norfolk district attorney has 60 days to decide whether to retry the case.

"I am overjoyed for my client, who has been waiting more than 40 years for freedom," Kavanaugh said. "I also deeply appreciate the willingness of the Norfolk district attorney’s office to disclose exculpatory evidence and reexamine the case in light of that evidence."