Rogers pleaded for his life.

Rogers, 52, was convicted of fatally stabbing eight women in 1987, torturing and mutilating them. Six victims were dumped in a Molalla forest, earning him the nickname the "Molalla Forest Killer."

A Clackamas County sentencing jury unanimously recommended the death penalty in each of six cases last Friday.

Victims' family members were allowed to address the court before formal sentencing on Tuesday. Some agreed that justice would be served by Rogers' death.

"Although the trial was mostly about the defendant and his quality of life, the verdict says these women were not abandoned," said a woman speaking on behalf of Chuck James, the father of one victim.

"These young women had to endure the worst deaths possible. Their trials were like living in the worst horror film imaginable."

Rogers, who made a tearful 9-minute plea for mercy before sentencing, said he couldn't say he deserved to live.

"There's not one minute of my existence that I don't think of those hurt by my actions," Rogers said, as relatives of his victims sobbed in court. "There is never a day that I don't struggle from the very core of my heart and soul over the despicable acts I've committed."

Kelly Cervantes, the daughter of one victim, asked for mercy for Rogers, telling the court she didn't want to see yet another life taken.

Rogers' death penalty was overturned twice by the Oregon Supreme Court on technicalities.

Jurors in the sentencing trial heard conflicting testimony over Rogers' potential for further crimes but unanimously rejected the defense claim that 18 years in prison had changed him.

Now begins a mandatory 10-step appeals process that could take 15 years or more.

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)