Scott Peterson Was Convicted of Killing His Wife and Unborn Child, Now He Wants a New Trial
Scott Peterson, a man whose name became infamous after he was convicted of murdering his pregnant wife and unborn son, recently asked a California judge for a new trial.
Fox News reports the decision is before Judge Anne-Christine Massullo, and it potentially could come on Dec. 24, the 20th anniversary of the day when the pregnant Laci Peterson disappeared.
Scott Peterson, now 50, was convicted of murdering Laci and their unborn son, Conner, in 2004 and sentenced to death. Authorities said he killed his wife on Christmas Eve in 2002 and then threw her body into the San Francisco Bay.
However, he appealed the death penalty, and, in 2021, was granted a life sentence after the California Supreme Court ruled that his jury was improperly screened for bias.
Now, Peterson wants a new murder trial altogether.
Here’s more from the report:
Peterson’s attorneys have argued that a new trial is warranted because juror Richelle Nice was biased and lied in her questionnaire to get on the jury. Meanwhile, prosecutors have argued that Nice “did the best that she could when faced with a 23-page questionnaire that had 163 questions.
“She’s inconsistent on her answers,” prosecutor David Harris previously told the court. “But being wrong does not necessarily make it false or make her a liar. It just might be that she’s really bad at filling out forms.”
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Laci’s and Conner’s remains were discovered on a San Francisco Bay beach in April 2003. Both were identified through DNA.
That same day police arrested Scott with nearly $15,000 in cash, foreign currency, two drivers’ licenses, a family member’s credit card, camping gear and multiple cellphones, according to court records. Peterson reportedly had extramarital affairs with several women including Amber Frey, who contacted police after she learned that Peterson was at the center of his wife’s disappearance and said Peterson had told her he was unmarried.
In 2017, however, A&E ran a series calling into question Scott’s murder conviction, citing evidence about a neighborhood robbery around the same time and testimony from neighbors and reporters at the scene who say they saw men outside a home across the street from the Petersons’ on the day she went missing. A&E also interviewed Scott, who contends that he is not guilty and has an alibi for the time when his wife went missing.
The Peterson case received national attention and spurred the passage of numerous unborn victims laws. These laws allow prosecutors to charge criminals with two crimes when they kill or injure an unborn child as a result of attacking a pregnant woman.
In 2004, President George W. Bush signed a law to afford additional legal protections to pregnant mothers and their unborn children. The Unborn Victims of Violence Act will allow criminals to be punished twice when they kill or injure an unborn child as a result of attacking a pregnant woman. Laci’s parents attended the ceremony.
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