Rosenberg went on to become the first New York State inmate to earn a law degree and in turn gave legal advice to several inmates, including the leaders of the Attica Prison riot. A book was written about Rosenberg and his time in prison which was adapted into a made-for-TV movie.
Death (later reduced to life in prison) Jerome " Jerry " Rosenberg (May 23, 1937 – June 1, 2009) was an American convicted murderer. He was incarcerated for 46 years, longer than any other prisoner in New York State history.
He frequently assisted other prisoners with legal issues as a jailhouse lawyer and estimated he was involved in over 200 lawsuits. Rosenberg was transferred to Wende Correctional Facility in 1991, serving, among other positions within the prison, as paralegal assistant for three years in the law library.
During the 1971 Attica Prison riot, Rosenberg provided legal advice to those leading the uprising. This included dramatically tearing in half a judge's order, as TV news cameras rolled, because he considered it a fake.
Rosenberg was sentenced to death for his involvement in a double homicide of two New York City police officers. His sentence was commuted to life in prison to be consistent with laws reducing the use of capital punishment in New York.
Time in prison. In 1964 Rosenberg was to be executed using the electric chair. Shortly before it was to take place, he was granted a stay of execution by Governor Nelson Rockefeller based on new laws that reduced the use of capital punishment in New York.
Rosenberg was the subject of a 1982 biography by Stephen Bello called Doing Life: The Extraordinary Saga of America's Greatest Jailhouse Lawyer; in 1986, the book was adapted for an NBC made-for-TV movie called Doing Life with Tony Danza in the role of Rosenberg.
In the biography, Mr. Rosenberg is quoted saying that anyone who was to become a lawyer ought to “do some time in jail.”. Advertisement. Continue reading the main story.
During the Attica uprising in September 1971, which resulted in 43 deaths, Mr. Rosenberg was the chief legal adviser for the uprising’s leaders. After the State Police retook the prison, Mr. Rosenberg was transferred to Sing Sing, in Ossining. Over the years, in various prisons, Mr. Rosenberg worked as a porter and as a substance abuse counselor.
It was the first double homicide of New York City police officers in 35 years, and about 1,000 officers were assigned to the manhunt. Mr. Rosenberg turned himself in, on his 25th birthday, at the offices of The Daily News, then on East 42nd Street.
Rockefeller commuted the death sentences, saying that they could not have been imposed under a new law that virtually abolished capital punishment in the state. Mr. Rosenberg began his prison sentence on Feb. 19, 1963.
By Sewell Chan. Jerry Rosenberg, who was spared the death penalty for the 1962 murders of two New York City police detectives, and who became a pioneering jailhouse lawyer and a legal adviser for the leaders of the Attica prison uprising in 1971, died on Monday at the Wende Correctional Facility in Alden, N.Y.
Kuby said Mr. Rosenberg soon became a well-known advocate for fellow inmates. (There is no record that he was ever admitted to the bar.)
Credit... Associated Press. Mr. Rosenberg, who always maintained he was not guilty of the killings, studied law through correspondence courses; he received a bachelor’s degree in 1967 from the Blackstone School of Law in Chicago.
Rosenberg was the subject of a 1982 biography by Stephen Bello called Doing Life: The Extraordinary Saga of America's Greatest Jailhouse Lawyer; in 1986, the book was adapted for an NBC made-for-TV movie called Doing Life with Tony Danza in the role of Rosenberg.
In 1962, Rosenberg took part in the robbery of Borough Park Tobacco Company in Brooklyn. The robbery was unsuccessful and resulted in the death of two police officers. The previous killing of two New York City police officers had occurred more than three decades earlier. With 1,000 police officers assigned to the double homicide, Rosenberg would eventually turn himself in. Upon conviction of first-degree murder, Rosenberg was to be executed along with his accomplice in th…
In 1964 Rosenberg was to be executed using the electric chair. Shortly before it was to take place, he was granted a stay of execution by Governor Nelson Rockefeller based on new laws that reduced the use of capital punishment in New York. Four years after Rosenberg's incarceration, he earned a law degree from the Blackstone Career Institute. Prior to Rosenberg, no inmate in the state of New York had ever earned a law degree.
• Smith, Richard Norton (2014). On His Own Terms: A Life of Nelson Rockefeller. Random House. ISBN 978-0-375-50580-5.
• Thompson, Heather Ann (2017). Blood in the water : the Attica prison uprising of 1971 and its legacy. New York. ISBN 978-1-4000-7824-0. OCLC 970680901.
• "Jerry Rosenberg". Law obituaries. The Daily Telegraph. June 15, 2009.
• Doing Life at IMDb