10/26/2004 Charles Rothenberg, Nonviolent Eleventh Striker Filed under: 2004 Election California Politics Crime Law by Xrlq @ 5:27 pm Today, Bill Handel of KFI pointed out that Charles Rothenberg will be released in just over three years if Proposition 66 passes. Rothenberg, you may recall, is the sweetheart who gave sleeping pills to his six-year-old son David, doused him with kerosene, and burned him very nearly to death in a motel in 1983, all to prevent his wife from getting custody. California had no three strikes law at the time, so despite the seriousness of this crime and a string of priors dating back to 1958, Rothenberg was sentenced to a whopping 13 years in prison, of which he served roughly seven.
Following his release, Rothenberg has had multiple brushes with the law, including a count of arson that did not result in an indictment, and an attempted murder charge that ended in an acquittal. Rothenberg was arrested again in 2001 and convicted for fraud and illegal possession of a firearm. Both crimes are felonies, but neither of them are "violent" or "serious" felonies, as defined by either the existing three strikes law or the watered-down version that is Prop 66. Due to the egregious nature of Rothenberg's past crime, San Francisco D.A. Terence Halinan took the unusual step of pursuing a third-strike charge against him. That charge won't stick if Prop 66 passes, however. In fact, Rothenberg would not even qualify as a second striker, as the two "violent" or "serious" offenses - arson and attempted murder - were decided in the same court proceeding. Rothenberg raised a similar challenge last year (h/t: Jeff Lewis), alleging unsuccessfully that his current charge should only count as a second strike rather than a first. Under the new law, it won't count as a strike at all, and Rothenberg will be free to burn more buildings and attempt to murder more people within three years, courtesy of the "Three Strikes and Child Protection Act of 2004."
UPDATE (4/28/05): Turns out, he won't get a three strikes conviction after all, even without that dreadful "reform."
