Exonerated Chelsea man is suing for $1 million after 34 years in prison

After prosecutors announced that a Chelsea man who spent more than three decades in prison and won a new trial would not be retried, he is suing the state for the maximum $1 million.

Thomas Rosa, who has always maintained his innocence, was convicted of murder, kidnapping and aggravated sexual assault in connection with the 1985 killing of 18-year-old Gwendolyn Taylor in Dorchester. He spent 34 years in prison.

Rosa was tried in three separate trials for murder, with the final trial ending in his conviction for murder and kidnapping in 1993. But he was released in 2020 when the courts considered his request for a new trial.

In 2023, Suffolk Superior Court Judge Michael Ricciotti overturned Rosa’s previous conviction and granted him a new trial after new DNA evidence cast “cast doubt on the reliability of eyewitness testimony” in the case.

But in March, Suffolk County prosecutors said they would not retry Rosa, citing new forensic tests, missing evidence, and changes in case law as the basis for their decision.

“The evidence was so weak, and the existence of law enforcement misconduct so blatant, that Mr. Rosa’s convictions for these crimes were overturned after three separate trials, the last two convictions being overturned only after the plaintiff’s decades-long wrongful imprisonment,” the lawsuit filed in Suffolk Superior Court said.

In the lawsuit, Rosa’s attorney alleges that Boston police investigators fabricated information from his then-wife and his absence, ignored evidence that pointed to other suspects, and destroyed or concealed evidence that could have proven his innocence.

“The case against Mr. Rosa was weak from the beginning,” the lawsuit stated. “No physical evidence linked him to the crimes. The prosecution’s case was based on the identification testimony of witnesses who had little opportunity to see the man the victim was with before her murder, under circumstances that would have led to unreliable identifications.”

Rosa is suing to seek the maximum $1 million allowed under state law, which some advocates are calling for state lawmakers to raise.

The lawsuit also asks the courts to order the state to expunge all records related to the conviction, give Rosa a 50 percent reduction in her state college tuition, and provide health care services and housing assistance, according to court documents.

The Attorney General’s Office, which represents the state, did not respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.

Molly Farrar is a general assignment reporter for Boston.com, focusing on education, politics, crime and more.