In 1964, Rosenberg was to be executed (via the
electric chair). Shortly before it was to take place, Governor
Nelson Rockefeller commuted his sentence and that of Anthony Portelli to life in prison based on new laws that greatly reduced the use of capital punishment in New York. Under the new law, only those convicted of murdering a police officer could face a death sentence. Although the two men had been convicted of killing police officers, Rockefeller said he commuted their sentence anyways since they had been convicted of felony first degree murder, instead of premeditated first degree murder. 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. Rosenberg was incarcerated at Attica Correctional Facility at the time of the
1971 rebellion. In the immediate aftermath of the takeover of parts of the prison on September 9, he was one of two men elected to represent C Block on the committee of men who would coordinate action by the insurgent prisoners and take leading roles in the negotiations. Rosenberg was instrumental in articulating demands for immunity from legal and other reprisals. Late on the 9th, in discussions with observers whose presence at Attica had been requested by the rebels, Rosenberg produced a draft of an
injunction that, if it could be endorsed by a judge, might prevent state employees retaliating against participants in the revolt after it had ended. That night, observer
Herman Schwartz, an attorney and law professor known for his commitment to the cause of prisoner rights, managed to get an injunction against “physical or other administrative reprisals” signed by both the
Commissioner of Corrections Russell G. Oswald and, at 3:30 a.m.,
a Western District judge. However, when Schwartz presented a copy of the document to the men occupying the prison's D Yard, Rosenberg grabbed it and tore it to shreds, arguing not only that it was invalid for lack of the judge's seal, but also that it failed to address the key demand for immunity from criminal prosecution. Over the three days of negotiations that followed, the issue of full amnesty (including protection from criminal charges) proved to be a sticking point, with state officials consistently refusing to countenance the demand. When the insurrection was crushed by an assault by state troopers and corrections officers, Rosenberg was shot in the knee and beaten. After the riot's resolution, Rosenberg was transferred to
Sing Sing Correctional Facility. Circa 1986, Rosenberg was resuscitated when his heart stopped beating during
open heart surgery; in 1988, he unsuccessfully argued before a judge that he had died and that this therefore meant that he had served his life sentence. 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. Rosenberg was transferred to prison hospital in 2000. He died of natural causes in June 2009 at the age of 72, having served 46 years in state prisons, the longest of any inmate in New York State penal history. He had been eligible for parole, but was denied release every time. ==In media==