After High Profile Fight To Overturn Rape Conviction, Benjamin LaGuer Has Died

Benjamin LaGuer, known for a decades-long attempt to overturn his rape conviction, has died in a Massachusetts prison hospital.

The Department of Correction says LaGuer died of liver disease at the state Lemuel Shattuck Hospital Wednesday. He was 57 years old.

LaGuer was released from custody on medical parole earlier this year because of liver cancer, but he was returned to prison after violating the conditions of his release.

LaGuer insisted he was wrongly convicted of sexually assaulting a Leominster neighbor in 1983. DNA testing in 2002 linked him to the rape.

The state's courts repeatedly rejected LaGuer's appeals, including the state's highest court in 2007.

His case attracted several high profile supporters including former Governor Deval Patrick and the late Boston University President John Silber.