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In my memoir, IN FOR LIFE: A Journey into Murder, Corruption, and Friendship, published in July 2023, I describe my participation in the case of Sean Ellis, my son’s childhood friend who was wrongfully convicted — at his third trial, in September 1995 — of the murder of Boston Police Detective John J. Mulligan and sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole. I describe reconnecting with Sean in 1998 after not having seen him for a decade. Convinced of his innocence, I joined his family and attorneys in an effort to free him from prison.
My research found documentary evidence that at the time of his murder, John Mulligan was participating with three station-house colleagues in a longstanding criminal scheme of shaking down drug dealers. These same three detectives were prominent members of the task force investigating Mulligan’s homicide — and it was they out of 60 other detectives who somehow “found” virtually all the evidence used against Sean (including pulling in a teenage relative of one of the trio to make a photo ID of Sean). The newfound evidence of these detectives’ conflict of interest was key to the overturning of Sean’s murder conviction in 2015, and he was released from prison to await retrial. Ultimately, the Suffolk D.A. dropped all charges against him, and his scheduled fourth trial never occurred,
In 2021, the City of Boston awarded Sean $16 million “atonement” for police misconduct in his case.
After having spent more than half his life incarcerated, Sean is now living a productive life. Happily married, he and works full-time for the New England Innocence Project (NEIP). He speaks out frequently in and around about the pressing need for criminal justice reform.
My own experiences with Sean and his case opened my eyes to the systemic injustice experienced by Black and brown individuals in this country, not only in the criminal justice system, but also in society as a whole. My life and outlook have been forever changed.
Sean Ellis and author Elaine Murphy after presenting at a 2015 Brandeis University seminar.
Netflix’s Trial 4
In 2020, Netflix premiered an eight-episode docuseries about the Sean Ellis case featuring Sean, attorney Rosemary Scapicchio, and Elaine Murphy. Trial 4 was released to popular and critical acclaim. (See Trailer) One of Netflix’s “Top10 True Crime Documentaries”—Newsweek, August 2020
Murphy is interviewed in 2019 at her home by the Paris-based Trial 4 production crew.
Sean Ellis with Elaine and Rich Murphy in their home, 2016.