After the Ben LaGuer story erupted and Deval Patrick had to respond to criticisms that he was weak on crime, he responded in part by saying that of all the gubernatorial candidates, only he had seen the inside of a courtroom and "sent people to jail."

“I've had the experience of sending people to jail,'' Patrick said, “No, I'm not a criminologist, but I have been in the crucible, breaking a sweat. I understand crime in our streets and in our culture.”

But now that story isn't holding up. At a press conference yesterday, Deval was asked about the number of cases he prosecuted in a courtroom, and he responded:

First of all, my roll as a prosecutor in the Justice Department was approving those charges and indictments... that’s the role I had, it wasn’t arguing to juries.

That's quite a different story for someone who has repeatedly said that as a former federal prosecutor he had "sent people to jail." He also admitted in the press conference that while he had been in criminal trials, it was as a defense attorney.

I'm glad he decided to be more honest about his record yesterday, but that doesn't make up for his deliberate exaggeration of his resume.