‘A NEW CHAPTER’

Wrongfully Convicted Man Who Spent 32 Years in Prison Gets $13 Million

Victor Rosario was 24 years old when he was wrongfully charged for arson and murder after a fire killed eight people in 1982.

Victor Rosario was 24 years old when he was charged for arson and multiple counts of murder after a fire in Lowell, Massachusetts killed eight people in 1982. But he didn’t do it—in fact, Rosario’s attorneys said he actually helped victims escape the fire. Now, Rosario will receive a $13 million settlement from the city for a wrongful conviction that put him behind bars for 32 years. “More than half of my life, I spent behind the wall of a Massachusetts state prison,” Rosario said at a news conference outside Boston’s federal courthouse Wednesday. “Today this chapter is ended and a new chapter begins. Nothing can ever compensate me for those years taken from me.” Attorney Mark Loevy-Reyes said that investigators coerced a confession from Rosario, then hid evidence that proved the fire was an accident. Rosario was told that he would be let go if he signed a paper–one that he couldn’t read due to a language barrier–and ended up signing for a life sentence. “$13 million does not begin to compensate Victor for all that he has lost but it reflects the acknowledgement of the city of Lowell that what happened wasn’t right,” another of Rosario’s attorneys said Wednesday.