{"id":2029239,"date":"2023-09-12T13:25:02","date_gmt":"2023-09-12T17:25:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/massachusetts-man-convicted-of-1985-murder-gets-new-trial-following-new-dna-evidence\/"},"modified":"2023-09-12T13:28:50","modified_gmt":"2023-09-12T17:28:50","slug":"massachusetts-man-convicted-of-1985-murder-gets-new-trial-following-new-dna-evidence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/massachusetts-man-convicted-of-1985-murder-gets-new-trial-following-new-dna-evidence\/","title":{"rendered":"Massachusetts man&#8217;s murder conviction overturned due to new DNA evidence."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmassachusetts-man-convicted-of-1985-murder-gets-new-trial-following-new-dna-evidence%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2029239&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"user-pass-wrap\">\n<div class=\"wp-pwd\">\n<blockquote><p>A Massachusetts man convicted in 1993 for a murder that occurred in 1985 has\u2063 been\u2062 granted a new trial after DNA evidence provided doubt \u200cabout his guilt.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><h2>Thomas Rosa&#8217;s Long Road to Justice<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p>Thomas Rosa\u2062 was convicted of killing 18-year-old Gwendolyn\u2063 Taylor following\u2062 three separate trials \u2013 one mistrial and \u2062one overturned conviction before a third and final conviction \u200bin 1993, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newenglandinnocence.org\/innocence-blog\/2020\/10\/19\/thomas-rosa-freed-from-prison-after-34-years\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">according to \u200dthe New England Innocence Project<\/a> (NEIP). Rosa\u2062 spent 34 years in prison before being released \u200bon October 15, 2020, following a judge\u2019s order\u200d that he \u2062be freed while the Massachusetts Superior Court \u200bconsiders \u2064his motion for a new trial.<\/p>\n<p>On September 6, Suffolk Superior \u200cCourt Justice \u200dMichael Ricciuti \u2064issued a ruling that vacated Rosa\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/man-wrongfully-convicted-of-raping-the-lovely-bones-author-has-finally-been-cleared\/\" title=\"Man Wrongfully Convicted Of Raping \u2018The Lovely Bones\u2019 Author Has Finally Been Cleared\">original conviction<\/a> but \u2062left the possibility for \u2062a new trial.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUnder a confluence \u200dof evidence analysis, the new DNA evidence and modern \u2063eyewitness science\u200d warrant a new trial,\u201d the decision says, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/thomas-rosa-murder-conviction-vacated-1993-new-trial-evidence-questioned-massachusetts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">according to \u200bCBS News<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><h3>Seeking Justice Once Again<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<p>District \u2063Attorney Kevin Hayden\u2019s office <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bostonglobe.com\/2023\/09\/08\/metro\/judge-orders-new-trial-chelsea-man-who-maintained-his-innocence-more-than-3-decades\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">told<\/a> the Boston \u2064Globe that prosecutors \u200dare \u201creviewing \u200cthe ruling and \u200cwill announce our decision at a future date.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRosa\u2019s conviction,\u2064 the result \u200bof the three trials \u200dand based on evidence that \u2018far from overwhelming\u2019 \u2026 \u200bwas based on\u200d two eyewitness identifications supported\u200b by blood typing, all\u2064 of which has been called into \u2063question,\u201d the decision said. \u201cBecause \u200bsuch evidence would be\u200b a real factor within jury deliberations, there was a substantial risk of \u200ba miscarriage of\u200d justice sufficient to grant a new\u2063 trial.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><h3>Fighting\u2064 for Freedom<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<p>Attorneys with\u2064 the NEIP and \u200bBoston College Innocence Project previously argued for \u2063a new trial, to which \u2062Justice Frank Gaziano\u200b replied \u2063in his\u2064 ruling that \u201cthe DNA evidence, if correct, in conjunction with the Defendant\u2019s other claims, could well establish that \u2018confluence of factors\u2019 that\u2063 would indicate that a new trial is required.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Suffolk County District Attorney\u2019s Office in 2020\u200d helped Rosa get out of prison by filing a petition saying Rosa\u2019s motion for postconviction relief had merit and that he presented no danger to\u200d the public. The motion also\u2064 stated that Rosa, \u2062now in his 60s, had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/l-a-county-health-officials-urge-residents-to-wear-masks-at-home-to-protect-vulnerable-one-america-news-network\/\" title=\"L.A. County health officials urge residents to wear masks at home to protect vulnerable | One America News Network\">underlying health conditions<\/a> that put him at risk if he were to \u200dcontract COVID during the pandemic.<\/p>\n<p><h3>Seeking Justice Without \u2063Another\u200d Trial<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<p>On Monday, Rosa\u2019s \u2062attorneys\u2064 held a press conference asking the DA\u2019s office to drop the charges rather than put \u200dtheir \u2064client \u200bthrough another trial.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are hopeful \u200dthat the District Attorney will now end this nightmare by dismissing all charges against Mr. Rosa,\u201d attorney Radha \u2063Natajaran\u200c said in a statement released prior to the news conference. \u200c\u201cThere \u2062should be no\u2064 fourth trial for this <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bank-of-america-secretly-flagged-purchase-history-of-customers-and-sent-the-data-to-feds-after-capitol-riot\/\" title=\"Bank of America Secretly Flagged Purchase History of Customers and Sent the Data to Feds After Capitol Riot\">innocent man<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><b data-stringify-type=\"bold\"><\/b><\/p>\n<p><h3>A Challenging Path for Prosecutors<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<p>A\u2063 new trial would be difficult for \u2063prosecutors \u2064to win, \u200cgiven \u200cthat evidence from the original crime scene has\u200c been allegedly lost, including the weapon used to \u200ckill\u2064 Taylor.<\/p>\n<p>New DNA testing also showed no traces of \u2064Taylor\u2019s DNA on a jacket taken \u2062from Rosa\u2019s home during the investigation. That jacket\u2064 was\u2064 used as evidence during his original\u2062 trials, with \u2064two eyewitnesses claiming they saw the killer\u2064 wearing it.<\/p>\n<p>Original tests\u2062 on the jacket found evidence of Taylor\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/shapiro-debunking-pro-abortion-propaganda\/\" title=\"SHAPIRO: Debunking Pro-Abortion Propaganda\">blood type<\/a>,\u200d but new testing excluded Rosa\u200b from the pool\u2062 of potential DNA matches. Millions of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/massachusetts-man-convicted-of-1985-murder-gets-new-trial-following-new-dna-evidence\/\" title=\"Massachusetts man's murder conviction overturned due to new DNA evidence.\">people share similar blood types<\/a>, so it is\u200b not\u2062 an accurate test to determine someone\u2019s guilt.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe only remaining evidence was the testimony of two eyewitnesses who viewed the perpetrator at night for less than ten seconds under \u2064circumstances that we\u2063 now know, based on numerous\u200c exonerations and research,\u200b create\u2062 a high risk of misidentification,\u201d the New England Innocence Project said in its press release before the news conference.\u2064 That press release\u200d also alleged that an eyewitness against Rosa \u201cdescribed a scenario where the victim and assailant knew each other, but Mr. Rosa and the victim never knew each \u2064other.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Massachusetts man convicted in 1993 for a murder that happened in 1985 has been given a new trial due to DNA evidence casting doubt on his guilt. Thomas Rosa was convicted of killing Gwendolyn Taylor, 18, after three trials &#8211; one mistrial, one overturned conviction, and a final conviction in 1993.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":126,"featured_media":2029240,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[541],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2029239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-daily-wire"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2029239","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/126"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2029239"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2029239\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2029240"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2029239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2029239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2029239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}