Wednesday, March 23, 2016
NEW YORK (AP) — Richard Rosario thought he'd quickly clear himself of suspicion in a New York City killing when he gave police the names of 13 people who could vouch he was in Florida when the shooting happened.
Instead, he was arrested, found guilty and imprisoned for 20 years. He lost multiple appeals.
Today, a judge overturned Rosario's murder conviction and freed him while prosecutors re-investigate his 1996 case.
Rosario wiped at his eyes and smiled as Bronx state Supreme Court Justice Robert Torres dismissed the conviction.
"I've been in prison for 20 years for a crime I didn't commit," Rosario told the judge. "My family didn't deserve this. I didn't deserve this, and nor did the family of the victim."
Rosario's attorneys called the case an illustration of unreliable eyewitness testimony, bungled defense and the difficulty of fighting a guilty verdict.
"It really is a case study in a wrongful conviction," said one of his lawyers, Glenn Garber of the Exoneration Initiative. "But he hung in there ... and finally he's getting some level of justice."