Local News
Rosa is suing for the maximum $1 million allowed under state law, a cap which some exonerees are calling on state lawmakers to raise.
Thomas Rosa Jr. poses for a portrait in his Everett home in 2020. Erin Clark/The Boston Globe
After prosecutors announced that a Chelsea man who spent more than three decades in prison and was granted a new trial would not be retried, he is suing the state for the maximum $1 million.
Thomas Rosa, who has always maintained his innocence, was convicted of murder, kidnapping, and aggravated sexual assault related to the 1985 murder of 18-year-old Gwendolyn Taylor in Dorchester. He spent 34 years in prison.
Rosa was tried in three separate trials for the killing, with the final trial ending with a conviction of murder and kidnapping in 1993. But, he was freed in 2020 as the courts considered his motion for a new trial.
In 2023, Suffolk Superior Court Justice Michael Ricciuti vacated Rosa’s previous conviction and granted him a new trial after new DNA evidence “casts doubt regarding the reliability of the eyewitness testimony” in the case.
In March, however, Suffolk County prosecutors said they would not retry Rosa, citing new forensic testing, lost evidence, and changes in case law as the grounds for its decision.
“The evidence was so weak, and the presence of law enforcement misconduct so blatant, that Mr. Rosa’s convictions for such crimes were overturned after three separate trials, the last two of the convictions were vacated only after decades of Plaintiff’s long wrongful imprisonment,” the lawsuit filed in Suffolk Superior Court said.
In the lawsuit, Rosa’s lawyer alleges that Boston police investigators fabricated information from his then-wife and alibi, ignored evidence pointing to other suspects, and destroyed or hid evidence that could have proven his innocence.
“The case against Mr. Rosa was weak from the start,” the lawsuit said. “No physical evidence tied him to the crimes. The prosecution’s case rested on the identification testimony of witnesses who had little opportunity to see the man that the victim was with before she was murdered, under conditions that would lead to unreliable identifications.”
Rosa is suing for the maximum $1 million allowed under state law, a cap which some exonerees are calling on state lawmakers to raise.
The lawsuit is also asking for the courts to order the state to expunge all records related to the conviction, give Rosa a 50 percent reduction in tuition for state college, and provide healthcare services and housing assistance, according to court documents.
The Attorney General’s office, who represents the state, did not return a request for comment about the lawsuit.
Molly Farrar is a general assignment reporter for Boston.com, focusing on education, politics, crime, and more.
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