James Rodwell has spent 45 years behind bars insisting he did not kill Louis Rose Jr., and this week the 70-year-old finally gets the hearing he has waited his entire adult life to see. The Advisory Board of Pardons is scheduled to hear his clemency case, reviewing the complete record of a conviction built on two witnesses and no physical evidence.
Rodwell is serving a life-without-parole sentence for the 1979 murder of Louis Rose Jr. in Somerville, according to the Boston Herald. Other reporting, including from the Lowell Sun, has identified the killing as occurring in 1978, when Rose was found dead in the front seat of his car parked on Garfield Avenue in Somerville. Rodwell was convicted in 1981 based on testimony from two witnesses and no physical evidence, and he took the stand in his own defense at trial, maintaining his innocence then as he does now.
The clemency hearing is set to be held at the Massachusetts Parole Board building in Natick, beginning at 9 a.m., and Rodwell is allowed to appear before the board without admitting he committed the crime. The Advisory Board of Pardons, a seven-person panel appointed by the governor, will hear directly from Rodwell and from Veronica White, who has worked on his case. White has said Rodwell is excited about the hearing and plans to present new evidence, including information from a witness who said under oath that Rodwell was set up.
A Case Built on Two Witnesses
The prosecution's case rested on testimony from Frankie Holmes, who received immunity for his testimony, and David Nagle, described by Rodwell's attorney as a paid federal informant, per the Herald's earlier reporting. Nagle received leniency for information he provided about Rodwell and other defendants, and he reoffended after receiving that leniency, according to the same reporting. No physical evidence tied Rodwell to the killing.
Rodwell's challenges to that conviction have stretched across decades. A Middlesex Superior Court judge rejected his seventh request for a new trial in May 2016, following a post-conviction hearing that involved 29 witnesses and 148 pieces of evidence, the Lowell Sun reported at the time. The Middlesex District Attorney's Office has said it is not taking a position on Rodwell's clemency petition.
Family and a Former Mayor Weigh In
Kimberly Pasciuto, Rodwell's sister, was asked to speak at the hearing and has said the family is preparing for it. Their effort has drawn outside support: former Springfield Mayor Michael Albano, who also served on the state Parole Board, wrote in support of Rodwell and dealt directly with key witness David Nagle during his time on the board. Albano called Nagle less than credible and wrote that Nagel's testimony against Rodwell should not be believed.
The path to this week's hearing was not quick. Rodwell's lawyer said the clemency petition was filed in November 2024, and the Advisory Board of Pardons granted him a hearing in April 2025 — but as of mid-February this year, no hearing date had been set, according to the Boston Herald. Massachusetts guidelines generally call for a hearing and recommendation within six months of a petition's filing, a timeline the same report noted had already been exceeded. The board had told Rodwell he would appear before it more than a year before the hearing actually took place.
What Comes Next
Rodwell's path to even reach this stage depended on a change to the state's clemency guidelines under Gov. Maura Healey, which opened the process to people who maintain their innocence rather than express remorse. After this week's hearing, the board could take a preliminary vote, and the process could eventually lead to a commutation or pardon of Rodwell's sentence — though under Massachusetts procedure, the board's role is to conduct the hearing and then make a recommendation to the governor, per the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security. The state recognizes two forms of executive clemency: a pardon, which treats the petitioner as if the offense had never been committed, and a commutation, which reduces a sentence without erasing the conviction, according to the state's clemency guidelines.
Such outcomes remain rare. In 2023, the Advisory Board of Pardons held seven pardon hearings, resulting in six favorable recommendations, and one commutation hearing that also ended favorably, per the Massachusetts Parole Board's 2023 annual report filed with the state legislature. For Rodwell, after 45 years, this week's hearing represents the first time the full record of his case will be reviewed by the board tasked with deciding whether his decades-long claim of innocence merits relief.
