A 55-year-old inmate sentenced to death in 1987, but who had the sentence reversed on appeal, is expected to be resentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole next month, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office announced Thursday.
Kenneth Clair was convicted in 1987 of special circumstances murder during a burglary as well as two counts of burglary.
Clair was convicted of killing 25-year-old Linda Faye Rodgers, who was a live-in babysitter for a Santa Ana family.
Clair, who was squatting in the home while the residents were away, broke in and attacked Rodgers, tying up her hands and sexually assaulting her before strangling and stabbing her to death, according to prosecutors.
The case against Clair was largely built on the testimony of his then- girlfriend Pauline Flores, who wore a wire for investigators and caught Clair making incriminating statements, prosecutors said.
The state Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and death sentence in 1992.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed Clair’s conviction, but overturned the death sentence because his attorney failed to use mitigating evidence in the trial about repeated sexual abuse Clair suffered while incarcerated before the murder.
Instead of retrying Clair’s penalty phase because it would be impractical to try to track down witnesses and the unavailability of other evidence due to the age of the case, prosecutors will instead ask to have the defendant sentenced to life in prison without parole.
–City News Service