When bad things happen to bad people. Tom Mashberg has a mind-boggling piece in this morning's Herald about homicidal hockey dad Thomas Junta, who's filed an appeal of his conviction for involuntary manslaughter.

According to Junta's lawyer and Mashberg's own reporting, the physician who testified at Junta's trial, Stanton Kessler, had said at a medical conference some time before the trial that the sort of injuries Junta inflicted on coach Michael Costin could have been the accidental result of "minor blows to the head," and have even been associated with a vigorous session at the chiropractor's office. Yet, at trial, Kessler testified that Costin's injuries could only have been inflicted by a vicious, savage assault.

Naturally, this information was not made available to the defense in a timely manner. If this pans out, it should serve as yet another caution that even in cases that seem open and shut, the potential for prosecutorial abuse should never be underestimated.