Richard Rosario

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Charge:	Second Degree Murder
Sentence:	25 years to life
Years Imprisoned:	19.75
Year Crime:	1996
Year Convicted:	1998
Year Cleared:	2016
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	New York
County or Region of Crime:	Bronx
City of Crime:	New York City
Result:	Judicially Exonerated
Summary of Case:	"Richard Rosario was wrongly convicted on November 23, 1998 of second-degree murder in the shooting death of a man in Bronx County, New York on June 19, 1996. Rosario's prosecution was based on the testimony of two eyewitnesses. Rosario's defense was that at the time of the shooting he was in Florida for the birth of his son. After Rosario's arrest he gave a statement to NYPD officers that named 13 alibi witnesses who could prove he was in Floria on June 19, 1996. The police and DA's office made effort to contact or interview any of those witnesses. After his conviction by a jury Rosario was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. Rosario's direct and post-conviction appeals were unsuccessful. A post-conviction investigation by NY attorney's Gleen Garber and Rebecca Friedman discovered the prosecution failed to disclose that one of the eyewitnesses told the police he couldn't see the gunman, and that the other eyewitness failed to identify Rosario in a line-up. They also interviewed Rosario's trial attorney who admitted he didn't contact more than a dozen alibi witnesses whose information Rosario provided to him. Rosario filed a post-conviction motion for a new trial based on ineffective assistance of counsel and the prosecution's Brady violations of failing to disclose the evidence undermining the credibility of the prosecution's two "eyewitnesses." Bronx County Supreme Court Justice Robert Sacket denied Rosario's motion on March 19, 2015. Darcel Clark became Bronx County DA in January 2016, and she reinvigorated the Bronx County Conviction Integrity Unit. CIU investigators went to Florida and interviewed 11 alibi witnesses who confirmed Rosario was in Florida on June 19, 1996. Based on that new evidence the DA Clark agreed to support the vacating of Rosario's conviction, and he was released on March 23, 2016. The Bronx County DA's motion to dismiss the indictment against Rosario was granted on November 10, 2016."
Conviction Caused By:	Perjury by the prosecution's two eyewitnesses.
Innocence Proved By:	"Bronx County Conviction Integrity Unit went to Florida and interviewed 11 alibi witnesses who confirmed Rosario was in Florida on June 19, 1996. Based on that new evidence the DA Clark agreed to support the vacating of Rosario's conviction, and he was released on March 23, 2016. The Bronx County DA's motion to dismiss the indictment against Rosario was granted on November 10, 2016."
Defendant Aided By:	New York City attorneys Glenn Garber and Rebecca Friedman with the Exoneration Initiative.
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	20
Age When Released:	40
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Hispanic
Information Source 1:	"1,070 Miles From Crime Scene Not Enough To Prevent Murder Conviction – The Richard Rosario Story, By Karyse Philips, Justice Denied magazine, Issue 36 (Spring 2007)"
Information Location 1:	http://justicedenied.org/issue/issue_36/1070_miles_jd36.pdf
Information Source 2:	"Bronx DA: Richard Rosario Conviction Stands, Bronx D.A. Advisory: Richard Rosario 440 Motion Denied, The Bronx Chronicle, April 3, 2015"
Information Location 2:
Information Source 3:	http://thebronxchronicle.com/2015/04/03/bronx-da-richard-rosario-440-motion-denied/
Information Location 3:	"EXI Client Richard Rosario Exonerated, But Refuses to Accept Imperfect Justice, exonerationinitiative.org, November 14, 2016"
Information Source 4:	http://exonerationinitiative.org/news-issues
Information Location 4:
Information Source 5:
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Richard Rosario

Charge:

Second Degree Murder

Sentence:

25 years to life

Years Imprisoned:

19.75

Year Crime:

1996

Year Convicted:

1998

Year Cleared:

2016

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

New York

County or Region of Crime:

Bronx

City of Crime:

New York City

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Perjury by the prosecution's two eyewitnesses.

Innocence Proved By:

Defendant Aided By:

New York City attorneys Glenn Garber and Rebecca Friedman with the Exoneration Initiative.

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

20

Age When Released:

40

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Hispanic

Information Source 1:

"1,070 Miles From Crime Scene Not Enough To Prevent Murder Conviction – The Richard Rosario Story, By Karyse Philips, Justice Denied magazine, Issue 36 (Spring 2007)"

Information Location 1:

http://justicedenied.org/issue/issue_36/1070_miles_jd36.pdf

Information Source 2:

"Bronx DA: Richard Rosario Conviction Stands, Bronx D.A. Advisory: Richard Rosario 440 Motion Denied, The Bronx Chronicle, April 3, 2015"

Information Location 2:

Information Source 3:

http://thebronxchronicle.com/2015/04/03/bronx-da-richard-rosario-440-motion-denied/

Information Location 3:

"EXI Client Richard Rosario Exonerated, But Refuses to Accept Imperfect Justice, exonerationinitiative.org, November 14, 2016"

Information Source 4:

http://exonerationinitiative.org/news-issues

Information Location 4:

Information Source 5:

Information Location 5:

Book About Case:

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

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