LOWELL, MASS. (WHDH) - A Lowell man spoke out this week after his attorneys said he secured one of the largest wrongful conviction settlements in New England history from the city of Lowell.
Victor Rosario’s attorneys issued a statement on the matter on Tuesday, roughly 40 years after he was convicted of arson and murder, which he did not commit.
Rosario spoke with reporters on Wednesday, at one point holding a photo of himself from 1983 on the day of his conviction.
Rosario’s attorneys said the city of Lowell will pay $13 million dollars in its settlement with Rosario.
“This 13 million dollars does not begin to compensate Victor for all that he has lost,” said attorney Locke Bowman. “But it reflects the acknowledgement of the city of Lowell that what happened wasn’t right.”
Rosario said he was on scene trying to help victims of a fatal apartment fire on Decatur Street in Lowell back in 1982.
Investigators later ruled the fire an arson and decided Rosario was the villain, rather than the hero in the incident.
“The right way to do an investigation is you gather all the evidence and see where it leads,” said attorney Mark Reyes this week. “The wrong way to do an investigation is to identify who your suspect is and make the evidence fit that person. That’s what happened to Victor Rosario.”
Rosario served 32 years in prison.
He missed seeing his four children grow up.
And his mother visited him behind bars before she died.
Rosario was exonerated in 2014. He then sued the city of Lowell, nine police officers and one firefighter for what they put him through.
He reacted to the settlement on Wednesday, saying he hopes to move on.
“I learned to forgive,” Rosario said. “And I’ve forgiven because, if I don’t forgive who did wrong to me, then my life will be always in prison and I don’t want that,” Rosario said. “I want to be free.”
Rosario’s wrongful conviction case was expected to go to court in two weeks before a settlement was reached Tuesday night.
7NEWS has reached out to city officials regarding the case but did not head back as of Wednesday afternoon.
Rosario is now 65 years old. He said he has eight grandchildren, adding that he runs marathons and now helps advise prisoners.
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