They were guilty as hell.
And the commies in NYC are still pissed to this day and won’t let it go! My suggestion is they change the name from NYC to Rosenberg City. Would be appropriate!
They lived in a time when accountability for crimes committed was still fashionable.
There were many more also guilty, who skated.
What makes this case controversial is they were held accountable, doesn't happen any more.
Alexander Feklisov, the KGB officer who handled the Rosenbergs would eventually publish his memoir, The Man Behind the Rosenbergs (New York: Enigma, 2001). To Cuban Missile Crisis buffs, he was known as Alexander Fomin, a prominent Soviet diplomat. However, he should be read carefully--unlike Whittaker Chambers and others who broke with Communism, he is proud of what he did. In 2020, Russia honored him by putting him on a postage stamp that dubbed him "hero of the Russian Federation, spy."