Rogers was being sentenced to consecutive life terms because he was found guilty of two separate murders. Judge Citta said he wanted it to be clear that Mr. His lawyer, David Ruhnke, said before the sentencing that his client would appeal the convictions. Citta asked him if he understood the proceedings and was sure that he did not want to address the court. Rogers declined to make a statement before sentencing, but answered in a loud, clear voice when Judge James N. Rogers, claiming self-defense, was acquitted of charges that he had killed his housemate with a hammer. His prints had been on file in Maine from a 1973 murder trial in which Mr. Rogers, a surgical nurse from Staten Island, was arrested in 2001 after forensics technology was able to lift faint fingerprints from the trash bags that contained the body parts. During the sentencing, however, he stood in the empty jury box, appearing emotionless and avoiding eye contact with his victims' families and the judge. Rogers, dressed in a red prison uniform, stared at the nearly 50 people in the courtroom and made eye contact with several reporters and witnesses.
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