Victor Rosario

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Charge:	Murder and Arson
Sentence:	Life Imprisonment
Years Imprisoned:	31
Year Crime:	1982
Year Convicted:	1983
Year Cleared:	2017
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Massachusetts
County or Region of Crime:	Middlesex
City of Crime:	Lowell
Result:	Judicially Exonerated
Summary of Case:	"Victor Rosario was wrongly convicted in 1983 of murder and arson in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, related to a five-alarm fire in Lowell on March 5, 1982 that resulted in the death of eight people, including five children. Rosario's prosecution was based on his confession, which he recanted as coerced by police, and his identification by an eyewitness. The prosecution's narrative was that Rosario and his two brothers tossed Molotov cocktails into the building as payback for a drug deal gone bad that involved one of the building's residents, who died in the fire. After his conviction by a jury Rosario was sentenced to life imprisonment. Post-conviction investigation discovered that based on advances in fire science their was doubt the fire was arson, and that Rosario's statement had the earmarks of a false confession based on new research into false confessions. Rosario filed a post-conviction petition to set-aside his conviction and for a new trial that was granted on July 11, 2014. Rosario was released on $25,000 bond on July 11, 2014. The Middlesex District Attorney's Office declined to retry Rosario. On September 8, 2017 the motion to dismiss the charges filed by the Middlesex District Attorney's Office was granted."
Conviction Caused By:
Innocence Proved By:	"On September 8, 2017 the motion to dismiss the charges filed by the Middlesex District Attorney's Office was granted."
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	25
Age When Released:	57
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Hispanic
Information Source 1:	"Lowell man, after spending 32 years in prison for a fatal fire, to remain free, By Milton J. Vanencia (Staff), Boston Globe, September 8, 2017"
Information Location 1:	https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/09/08/lowell-man-after-spending-years-prison-for-fatal-fire-remain-free/eOhshqIxOBDtcmJeDH8C1H/story.html
Information Source 2:	"Murder, arson convict free on bail, By Lisa Redmond (Staff), Lowell Sun (Lowell, Mass.), July 11, 2014"
Information Location 2:	http://www.lowellsun.com/local/ci_26130123/murder-arson-convict-free-bail
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Victor Rosario

Charge:

Murder and Arson

Sentence:

Life Imprisonment

Years Imprisoned:

31

Year Crime:

1982

Year Convicted:

1983

Year Cleared:

2017

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Massachusetts

County or Region of Crime:

Middlesex

City of Crime:

Lowell

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

"On September 8, 2017 the motion to dismiss the charges filed by the Middlesex District Attorney's Office was granted."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

25

Age When Released:

57

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Hispanic

Information Source 1:

"Lowell man, after spending 32 years in prison for a fatal fire, to remain free, By Milton J. Vanencia (Staff), Boston Globe, September 8, 2017"

Information Location 1:

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/09/08/lowell-man-after-spending-years-prison-for-fatal-fire-remain-free/eOhshqIxOBDtcmJeDH8C1H/story.html

Information Source 2:

"Murder, arson convict free on bail, By Lisa Redmond (Staff), Lowell Sun (Lowell, Mass.), July 11, 2014"

Information Location 2:

http://www.lowellsun.com/local/ci_26130123/murder-arson-convict-free-bail

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Book About Case:

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

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