BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Prosecutors have decided to again retry the penalty phase of a former Kern County sheriff’s deputy who killed two prostitutes in the 1980s.
The second retrial of the penalty phase for David Keith Rogers was set for Aug. 14 during a hearing Monday morning. The first retrial was held earlier this year and ended with a jury deadlocked 10-2 in favor of Rogers being sentenced to death.
The only alternative is for Rogers to serve life in prison with no possibility of parole.
In 1988, Rogers was convicted of killing Janine Benintende, 20, in 1986 and Tracie Clark, 15, a year later, shooting them multiple times then dumping their bodies in the Arvin-Edison canal. Clark was three months pregnant when killed.
He was sentenced to death.
The state Supreme Court in 2019 overturned Rogers’ death sentence after determining a prosecution witness whose testimony was used during the penalty phase falsely testified he sexually assaulted her. His murder convictions remain intact.
District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer and Chief Trial Deputy Eric Smith have said Rogers’ crimes are so heinous he deserves a death sentence.
The defense argued Rogers should get life without parole. Assistant Public Defender Tanya Richard has said Rogers had a difficult upbringing, showed remorse for the killings and has lived a lonely existence at San Quentin State Prison for more than 30 years.
