The 23-page decision, upholding an order for a new trial, can be found here:

[www.mass.gov]

The justices had a problem with the interrogation that included lying to the defendant, and "formatting," i.e., providing the defendant with details that only the arsonist would know. The justices ruled:

The defendant's condition was only one part of the problem with the interrogation. The motion judge made significant findings regarding the circumstances surrounding the defendant's confession. She credited the interpreter's sworn affidavit in which he stated that the police officers added their own accusations about the origin of the fire, e.g., that the defendant threw a "Molotov cocktail" into the building, into the statements they prepared for the defendant to sign. This significant flaw was compounded by the fact the third, and most incriminating, statement was not interpreted into Spanish before the defendant signed it.

In addition, three of the tactics used during his interrogation have the potential to elicit false confessions. See Commonwealth v. Tremblay, 460 Mass. 199, 208 (2011). Although not newly discovered evidence, we consider these flaws in evaluating whether justice requires a new trial under the totality of the circumstances. See Ellis, 475 Mass. at 480-481. First, although the defendant said that he had stopped at the location because he observed the fire and wanted to help people escape the building, the officers falsely told the defendant that a witness had placed him at the scene before the fire began. See note 4 supra. Second, the officers motivated the defendant to confess; they said that if his friends had caused the fire, they might blame him, and he would be left "holding the bag." Third, the officers engaged in "formatting," meaning that they told the defendant some corroborating details, which the defendant then adopted as part of his confession: that he acted as a lookout for his friends; that there were three points of origin for the fire; and that the fire was started with Molotov cocktails. These details were later included in the written statements. Such tactics are of particular concern where, as here, a suspect is already suggestible and was never given a translation of the last, most critical statement. We note that the defendant claimed that he had never heard of a Molotov cocktail before the interrogation. Until the last statement, he denied causing the fire and repeatedly stated that he had sought to save children from the burning building. The fact that the defendant was suffering from DTs increased the possibility of a false confession.

Interesting case. The defendant was released from prison in July 2014 after serving 32 years. Craig Beyler and I worked on the fire science. The story of Rosario's release on bail is here:

[www.lowellsun.com]

In a delicious bit of irony, the prosecutor argued against bail, because the defendant did not really have "roots in the community." After all, he had been away from the community for 32 years.