Mr. Rosa is Officially the 100th Person Exonerated in Massachusetts Since 1989
The New England Innocence Project and Loevy + Loevy announce today that the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office has ended the prosecution of its client, Thomas Rosa, Jr. of Chelsea. Mr. Rosa was wrongfully convicted and incarcerated for 34 years for a murder that he did not commit. On September 6, 2023, Judge Ricciuti overturned Mr. Rosa’s convictions because new DNA evidence and advances in eyewitness science directly undermined the trial evidence that the state used to convict him.
Mr. Rosa is jointly represented by Radha Natarajan, Executive Director of the New England Innocence Project, and Mark Loevy-Reyes and Meg Gould from Loevy & Loevy.
Mr. Rosa, who has always maintained his innocence, was wrongfully convicted in Suffolk County Superior Court for the 1985 murder of Gwendolyn Taylor. Mr. Rosa presented himself voluntarily to the police and was tried three times, facing one mistrial and one overturned conviction before his final conviction in 1993.
Many things have changed since Mr. Rosa was wrongfully convicted. All of the forensic blood-typing evidence that the Commonwealth used at trial to connect Mr. Rosa to this crime is now contradicted by new DNA testing. The only remaining evidence was the testimony of two eyewitnesses who viewed the perpetrator at night for less than ten seconds under circumstances that we now know, based on numerous exonerations and research, create a high risk of misidentification. In addition, Mr. Rosa did not have the one distinctive feature noted by an eyewitness – a missing tooth or gap in his teeth. Finally, the eyewitnesses described a scenario where the victim and assailant knew each other, but Mr. Rosa and the victim never knew each other.
The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office first assented to Mr. Rosa’s motion for postconviction relief but then decided to push for a fourth trial. However, in a reversal, the Office today filed a “nolle prosequi,” a notice that it was ending the prosecution, officially exonerating him.
“We are gratified that the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office decided to finally end this wrongful prosecution. Given the new DNA and scientific evidence that dismantles the Commonwealth’s case against Mr. Rosa, there is no other just outcome but to exonerate him,” said Attorney Radha Natarajan, who has been representing Mr. Rosa for the last ten years.
The National Registry of Exonerations collects data on official exonerations since 1989. Mr. Rosa will have the distinction of being the 100th exoneree from Massachusetts since 1989.
“This exoneration doesn’t erase the past, but it restores truth, dignity, and hope for the future,” Mr. Rosa and his wife, Virginia, stated.
Since obtaining his freedom, Mr. Rosa has been reunited with his family, including his wife, son, and grandchildren, who are a constant source of joy for him. He has been very involved in his community, especially the Exoneree Network community, lending support to others who have experienced a wrongful conviction or suffered the trauma of long-term incarceration. Unfortunately, Mr. Rosa has suffered from declining health as a result of decades of wrongful imprisonment and inadequate healthcare. He looks forward to putting this behind him.