Thomas Rosa Jr., freed after 34 years in prison for the 1985 killing of Gwendolyn Taylor, is suing Massachusetts for the maximum $1 million allowed under state law after prosecutors said they would not retry him. His lawsuit seeks additional remedies including
When prosecutors said they would not retry Thomas Rosa after a judge ordered a new trial based on new DNA evidence. the case did not end for the man who has spent more than three decades behind bars.. Rosa. who has maintained his innocence since his conviction. is now suing the state for the maximum $1 million allowed under state law.
Rosa was convicted of murder, kidnapping, and aggravated sexual assault tied to the 1985 murder of 18-year-old Gwendolyn Taylor in Dorchester. He served 34 years in prison. His case went through three separate trials, with the final one ending in convictions for murder and kidnapping in 1993.
Rosa was freed in 2020 after courts considered his motion for a new trial. In 2023, Suffolk Superior Court Justice Michael Ricciuti vacated Rosa’s prior 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 announced they would not retry Rosa.. They pointed to new forensic testing, lost evidence, and changes in case law as the basis for their decision.. The lawsuit frames that reversal sharply, saying the convictions were overturned only after years of wrongful imprisonment.
In the suit filed in Suffolk Superior Court. Rosa 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 complaint says: “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.”
Rosa’s attorneys also argue that the case against him was unreliable from the beginning, writing: “The case against Mr.. Rosa was weak from the start.” The filing says there was “No physical evidence tied him to the crimes. ” and that the prosecution relied on identification testimony from witnesses who had “little opportunity to see the man that the victim was with before she was murdered. ” in circumstances that would “lead to unreliable identifications.”
Rosa is seeking $1 million, which state law caps for exoneration claims.. The lawsuit says some exonerees are calling on state lawmakers to raise that cap.. The complaint also asks the courts to order the state to expunge all records related to the conviction. provide Rosa a 50 percent reduction in tuition for state college. and give healthcare services and housing assistance. according to court documents.
The sequence of events described in the filings has a clear through-line: Rosa’s prior conviction was vacated in 2023 after new DNA evidence “casts doubt regarding the reliability of the eyewitness testimony. ” but prosecutors later declined to retry him in March. citing new forensic testing. lost evidence. and changes in case law—while Rosa’s lawsuit points instead to alleged misconduct and evidentiary failures.
The Massachusetts Attorney General’s office, which represents the state, did not respond to a request for comment about the lawsuit.
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