The Massachusetts Parole Board on Wednesday signed off on parole for Natick resident Oscar Rosa, who was convicted in 2008 of second-degree murder for a 2006 stabbing that led to the death of nightclub security guard Craig Viera. The vote means Rosa will spend roughly six more months in a minimum-security facility, then move into a long-term residential reentry program. His path back into the community comes with tight restrictions, including GPS monitoring, a 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew, mandatory counseling and regular Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.
Parole board decision and rationale
In its written life-sentence decision, the panel said it found that "with sufficient supports and programming, Mr. Rosa’s release is compatible with the welfare of society," and detailed the supervision plan that must be in place before and after release, according to the Massachusetts Parole Board. The board said it relied on evaluations and risk-reduction programming it reviewed before taking the vote.
The 2006 case and conviction
The stabbing happened on Nov. 26, 2006, outside the Embassy Nightclub in Boston, where Rosa, then 20, stabbed 32-year-old security officer Craig Viera, the Boston Police Department said in a 2006 statement. Viera was treated and released from the hospital but later developed blood clots that collected in his lungs and died on Dec. 8, 2006, prosecutors said. Rosa was tried in Suffolk Superior Court, convicted of second-degree murder in 2008 and sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole, according to court and prosecutor records.
Conditions and supervision
Under the board’s order, Rosa must stay in minimum-security custody for about six more months before entering a long-term residential program. He will be required to wear a GPS monitoring bracelet for six months, follow a nightly 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew, enroll in a community justice support center for assessment and services, and participate in counseling along with regular AA meetings, according to the Parole Board decision. The board said these conditions are meant to support his reentry while managing any risk to public safety.
Parole history and what changed
Rosa has appeared before the board before. The board noted that he completed four programs since his last hearing and took that progress into account in granting parole, MetroWest Daily News reported. Prosecutors and Viera’s family had opposed earlier efforts to secure his release, according to court records and local reporting.
What comes next
If Rosa meets the pre-release conditions laid out by the board, he will move into the identified residential reentry program and begin living under community supervision with the listed restrictions in place. State parole and correctional staff, working with local reentry providers, will coordinate when that transfer happens and how his supervision is carried out.
