Peterson Sentenced (http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/12/13/peterson.case/index.html)

Jurors recount their 'difficult decision'
Monday, December 13, 2004 Posted: 7:24 PM EST (0024 GMT)


REDWOOD CITY, California (CNN) -- A jury recommended Monday that Scott Peterson, the former fertilizer salesman whose case grabbed national headlines, be sentenced to death for killing his 27-year-old pregnant wife, Laci.

Cheers went up from a crowd of several hundred outside the courthouse as the jury announced its decision after 11 1/2 hours of deliberations over three days.

Peterson, 32, clenched his jaw when the verdict was read and leaned over to speak with his attorney, Mark Geragos, but showed no other emotion, according to The Associated Press.

Laci Peterson's mother, Sharon Rocha, cried -- her lips quivering. Scott Peterson's mother, Jackie, showed no apparent emotion, according to the AP.

The San Francisco Examiner published a special edition emblazoned with the giant headline "DEATH" minutes after the jury's recommendation was announced.

The jury had two options in deciding Peterson's fate for killing his wife: life in prison without parole or death by injection.

At a news conference after the verdict, three tired-looking jurors described their experience in the trial.

"There are so many things, so many things," juror Richelle Nice said. "Scott Peterson was Laci's husband, Conner's daddy -- the one person that should have protected them."

On November 12, the same six-man, six-woman jury convicted Peterson of first-degree murder with special circumstances in the death of Laci, who was eight months pregnant, and of second-degree murder in the death of the couple's unborn son, who would have been named Conner.

Judge Alfred A. Delucchi will formally sentence Peterson on February 25. He has the option of reducing the sentence to life.

If Delucchi upholds the jury's recommendation, Peterson will be sent to death row at San Quentin State Prison outside San Francisco.

"I want to thank you very much for serving as trial jurors in this case. I know what a difficult job this has been," Delucchi said to the jurors before dismissing them. "I just can't believe how well you performed."

At a news conference after the sentence, Geragos said the defense would pursue "every and all appeals," adding that it's "a very difficult time. That's all I've got to say."

It could be years before even the first phase of the appeals process begins. The sentence might not be carried out for decades, if ever.

California's death row has grown to house about 650 condemned men and women since the state restored capital punishment in 1978, according to the AP.

Only 10 executions have been carried out since then. The last one was in 2002 -- for a murder that happened 22 years earlier.

A nation riveted
From the start, the story of a beautiful young, missing pregnant woman immediately grabbed the public's attention.

But as the investigation unfolded, details of the case elevated it to the level of near-daily coverage by cable TV networks and tabloid publications.

Laci was reported missing from the couple's Modesto home on Christmas Eve 2002, the same day her husband said he went fishing alone in San Francisco Bay. Police searched the Peterson home, but found no clues.

A month later, massage therapist Amber Frey revealed she had had an affair with Peterson, saying he told her he was single.

By mid-February 2003, police had removed dozens of items in a second search of the Peterson home and also began taping Peterson's phone calls.

He was not arrested until April 2003, after the remains of Laci and Conner washed up on the shore of San Francisco Bay.

At the time of his arrest in San Diego near the Mexican border, Peterson's hair was dyed and he had grown a goatee. A few days later, he was charged with two counts of murder.


A crowd outside the courthouse in Redwood City, California, awaiting the jury recommendation.
Prosecutors said -- and jurors agreed -- Peterson killed Laci by strangling or smothering her, then dumped her weighted body into the bay.

Laci's body was discovered a few miles from where Peterson said he went fishing the day his wife was reported missing.

Prosecutors said Peterson killed his wife because he wanted to live as a freewheeling bachelor, unencumbered by a wife and child.

Jurors during his trial heard hours of taped telephone conversations between Peterson and Frey.

Citing adverse local pretrial publicity, Peterson's defense asked for and received a change of venue from the couple's hometown of Modesto.

The case was moved to the San Francisco Bay area and handed over to a new judge earlier this year. Jury selection began in March. The trial began in June, and testimony concluded in September.

Jurors began deliberations November 3, and nine days later they announced their guilty verdicts.

The second-degree murder conviction in Conner's death carried a penalty of 15 years to life in prison.

Emotional penalty phase

Defense attorney Mark Geragos after the sentencing decision.
Emotions ran high during the penalty phase, and jurors heard wrenching testimony from relatives of both Scott and Laci.

On the first day, a number of jurors broke into sobs as Laci's mother, Sharon Rocha, recalled she spent her first Mother's Day without her daughter lying on the floor crying.

"She was taken away from me," Rocha screamed at Peterson. "Divorce is always an option, not murder."

Peterson's mother, Jackie, was the last witness to testify, and begged jurors to spare her son's life. Executing him, she testified as she sobbed, would mean the extinction of the entire family -- Scott, Laci and Conner, "like they never existed."

During his closing arguments, prosecutor David Harris called Peterson "the worst kind of monster" noting that while Laci and the baby were missing for 116 days, "the man who knew where they were laughed and lied."

But defense attorney Pat Harris told the jury that Peterson "has a lot of good in him" and would be a good candidate to help others in prison.

:clap: :clap: :clap: Too bad it'll take few decades until he dies :irked:

Doesn't that just make you sick? It's like why even have a DEATH ROW...just put them all up in Motel 6, least I know my money will fix up the place!

Poor little Scottie, now he has no one to play with....well....unless????

They should have sent his ass to Texas...

If his sentence may never go through and he dies of old age before they get a chance to execute him, then why give him the death penalty. If you are going to give him the death penalty, then execute him quickly.

They should have sent his ass to Texas...


He better thank his lucky stars he didn't do it in Texas.

He'll sit in his cell and rot, there's no way they'll smoke that bastard in less than fifteen years. I'm glad he got the death penalty, but I get the sinking feeling it will never happen.

If his sentence may never go through and he dies of old age before they get a chance to execute him, then why give him the death penalty. If you are going to give him the death penalty, then execute him quickly.

I agree, the whole point of a death penalty is to get rid of the person. I think the accused should get one chance to appeal (given the chance that they might be wrongly accused) and they should have to do it within a year or something. If they choose not to, they die - no acceptions.

Gotta love our tax dollers at work! I think it was so much easier in the 1800's and early 1900's, sentance was passed and the guilty party was hung the next day. I'm sure they made MANY mistakes back then as well but prisons weren't sucking aways all our money!

Maybe he will hang out with Manson???

I'm glad he got DEATH, but he will live a lot longer then Laci did.

I am so glad to hear this.

I don't want to get into a whole debate but something bothers me when I hear that someone is sentenced to death and a crowd cheers. It is just unsetteling.

Its just the juries recommendation,the judge still has the final say.

I think I have a better record now than Mark Garagos and it took me 3 times to get my GED

I don't want to get into a whole debate but something bothers me when I hear that someone is sentenced to death and a crowd cheers. It is just unsetteling.


You're right, hon, it is unsettling. But what is more unsettling is what he did to his wife and unborn child, and the fact that if he had even an ounce of a chance of getting out, he would do it again.

I am a proponent of the death penalty in only very select cases, and this is one of them.

I think that a person who knows they genuinely didn't do something should get all the help they need to save themselves, but I don't believe he fits the bill in this case.

I am normally a gentle person but not in this case. I can't imagine the terror that Laci went through. I feel bad for her family for his family as well. As always, they are the ones who TRULY pay for the crime.

I don't want to get into a whole debate but something bothers me when I hear that someone is sentenced to death and a crowd cheers. It is just unsetteling.


I am not normally cheering for death but when it comes to a child that is when I loose my forgiveness :grrr:
He needs to pay for what he did to her and that child, I think the sentence suits the crime.

Death Row in California is life ~ See Charles Manson

I hope bubba reams him out real good, sodomizes the hell out of him, makes him bleed out his bellybutton, along with his rectum, then kills him. Save the state the cost of a few appeals.

I say let's do to him what he did to Laci and his unborn son, Connor, who didn't even get a chance at life !!!!! An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth !!!! Especially if that man is going to sit on death row until he's an old man. What he did was inconceivable !!!!! :grrr: Like Laci's mom said.... he could've divorced her instead, and had nothing to do with them after !!!! I have NO compassion for this man whatsoever. I think he's a SCUMBUCKET and not even worth a penny of the taxpayer's money !!!!! People like that make my blood boil !!!!!!! :mad: Inject the SOB, and let the world be a better place !!!!!

an eye for an eye indeed. Peterson deserves to die

I say let's do to him what he did to Laci and his unborn son, Connor, who didn't even get a chance at life !!!!! An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth !!!! Especially if that man is going to sit on death row until he's an old man. What he did was inconceivable !!!!! :grrr: Like Laci's mom said.... he could've divorced her instead, and had nothing to do with them after !!!! I have NO compassion for this man whatsoever. I think he's a SCUMBUCKET and not even worth a penny of the taxpayer's money !!!!! People like that make my blood boil !!!!!!! :mad: Inject the SOB, and let the world be a better place !!!!!

Did you see his lame mother at the sentencing phase? "Oh, please don't kill my little Scotty-Potty. If you do, you'll be removing an entire family from off the face of the earth!" Excuse me lady, but it was your worthless, heartless scumbag of a son that wiped the other two thirds off the face of the earth, when he was the only part of the family that deserves to be wiped off the face of the earth.

I wonder what was going on in that evil head of his. Did he really think he wasn't going to get caught?
What an ass!!!

Did you see his lame mother at the sentencing phase? "Oh, please don't kill my little Scotty-Potty. If you do, you'll be removing an entire family from off the face of the earth!" Excuse me lady, but it was your worthless, heartless scumbag of a son that wiped the other two thirds off the face of the earth, when he was the only part of the family that deserves to be wiped off the face of the earth.
Yes I did, Black Oyster. It outraged me even further. I'm not one to get into debates about the death penalty, but I had to get into this one. I cannot believe that this man could sit there day to day knowing what he did and not even show any remorse. Those two people were innocent. They didn't deserve to die the way they did. That man SHOULD NOT have the same pleasures that we enjoy..... 3 square meals a day and a roof over his head payed for by us, the taxpayers. It just kills me that his son will never know what it's like to live, love, or have fun. Just like Laci and Connor didn't deserve to die, especially the way they did, Scott does not deserve to live!!!!!

I was watching the jury as they spoke out for the first time last night, and the one named Stawberry Shortcake said something that really hit home...

"He was her husband, he was Conners Daddy! He was supposed to protect them!"

Im all for death penalty, and in this case, the callousness of Scotts actions, his total lack of any kind of remorse, or sadnesses was appalling. I didnt even know this woman and I found myself crying when he was found guilty. And he was married to her! Yet no tears! Emotions played a huge role in the final outcome.

I also agree with whomever said that the DP would never get carried out. Since 1978 CA has only carried out 10 executions. Hell, Texas carried out twice that this year alone!

I'm just relieved that he was found GUILTY. He'll suffer BIG TIME whether he has life in prison without the possibility of parole or execution. It DOES suck that we pay for him to be housed, but you know what? If it means that the bastard suffers... I'm all for it.

Laci's mom about killed me... sooooo HEART BREAKING! :bigcry: I can't even IMAGINE. :no:

A few notes:

Please leave the "eye for an eye" talk out of this thread. It has religious overtones and is probably borderline against our rules.

Second, please stop calling the fetus Connor. He was never born, and never named officially.

Thanks.

* DISCLAIMER *

Please do not carry this on after I make this statement, it is only something to make everyone open their eyes a little. It is NOT meant for debate.

More than a few people are saying he deserved death for the murder of his wife and his unborn son. I too, believe he deserves death....for the murder of his wife only.

If you are a person of the pro-choice persuasion - as I am - how can you say he deserves death for the murder of his unborn child? If that is the case, it's a SEVERE blow to the argument of pro-choice. We should then be rounding up everyone who's had an abortion and charging them with murder.

If you are pro-life, then you have every right to claim he deserves death for the murder of the fetus. But if you are pro-choice....it's a tad hypocritical, innit?

Just some food for thought. ;)

By the way, I'm GLAD he got the death sentence. But like everyone else, I fear I'LL probably be taking a dirt nap before he does....:6ohboy:

Death Row in California is life ~ See Charles Manson

Manson ended up with life with parole, not death :thumb: That is why we see him every few years in front of the parole commitee.

Remember this, the judge still has the final say. This is Cali and things could still change until the formal sentencing. The last execution was in 2002 for a crime in 1980. I was 11 at that time :no: I was thinking of what one of the jurors said about Scott's lack of remorse or emotion that put them over the top in the verdict. A judge could technically use that as a means to overturn the decision. This probably won't happen but if it does then maybe the jury should not speak to the press until the sentencing is complete. Just a scary possible scenrio.

* DISCLAIMER *

Please do not carry this on after I make this statement, it is only something to make everyone open their eyes a little. It is NOT meant for debate.

More than a few people are saying he deserved death for the murder of his wife and his unborn son. I too, believe he deserves death....for the murder of his wife only.

If you are a person of the pro-choice persuasion - as I am - how can you say he deserves death for the murder of his unborn child? If that is the case, it's a SEVERE blow to the argument of pro-choice. We should then be rounding up everyone who's had an abortion and charging them with murder.

If you are pro-life, then you have every right to claim he deserves death for the murder of the fetus. But if you are pro-choice....it's a tad hypocritical, innit?

Just some food for thought. ;)

By the way, I'm GLAD he got the death sentence. But like everyone else, I fear I'LL probably be taking a dirt nap before he does....:6ohboy:


The child was due in Dec. (It was 9 months) not 2-6 weeks like most people have abortions on. Laci didn't want an abortion nor to die. So in my eyes he murdered his unbornchild.

If you are pro-life, then you have every right to claim he deserves death for the murder of the fetus. But if you are pro-choice....it's a tad hypocritical, innit?

Just some food for thought. ;)

By the way, I'm GLAD he got the death sentence. But like everyone else, I fear I'LL probably be taking a dirt nap before he does....:6ohboy:[/b]

The only problem with that, Pagan, is that SHE never got the choice between whether she wanted to "abort" the fetus or not, he made that choice for her. It's not that I think it's abortion. If she has decided to have the child and he took the child, it's murder.

That is a problem that our legal system has. Did you all know that we have no legal definition of what a person is? Did you know that at one time our legal system, even though it has no legal definition of what a person is, defined a black person as half a person? Blatantly WRONG.

If we could ever decide what a person is...

Take this scenario. You are about to be a father. You get a phonecall that your wife was in a car accident. Upon arriving at the hospital you learn that your wife is just fine but a sharp blow to the abdomen has caused a miscarriage. Do you. . .
a) say, "well since you are not pregnant anymore let's go have a beer and see a movie"
or
b) mourn the loss of your child

This was not an abortion. This was a father that felt no remorse about killing his wife that was pregnant with his child. This is not an abortion issue. If during the act of murder he asked Laci if she did not mind the death of the fetus and she said , "not really", that would be different. By all accounts this child was expected and wanted and there were no signs of comlpications with pregnancy. Thus it is safe to assume that by now there would be another living breathing person in the world. That assumption goes a long way in this case. Now if this had been a robbery where the assailant did not know the victim was pregnantbefore murdering her, I may feel diferent. This case the father and husband commited the most unspeakable and horrific act I can think of.

Laci's mother yelled that divorce was always an option. Not for him. He wanted freedom. A divorce if Laci was not pregnant would have been freedom. Seeing as she was pregnant he would always be a father and thus not free from his responsibilities. Thus he killed her. That shows intent more than anything else that he meant to destroy the baby as much as Laci.

Just a little more food for thought. Let's all agree to try and not turn this thread into a hurtful debate, OK.

Glad I put that disclaimer in....:rolleyes:

One last thing and then I'm done. Jaiz, how about this scenerio...you are a father and come home to find your wife had an abortion without telling you? A little upset maybe? Is it murder then? We're walking a fine, fine line here.

Comparing an abortion to a car accident is preposterous. One is an unfortunate and uncontrolled, one is a thought out process. And it is safe to assume that EVERY abortion would by now be a living breathing person, so that point is kinda moot, isn't it?

I'm not defending him, which is what it seems those who quickly responded with their emotions are thinking. I'm showing where the lines of thought can be blurred by sentiment. Laws are not judged by sentiment. THAT is what I was trying to point out.

I'm not defending him, which is what it seems those who quickly responded with their emotions are thinking. I'm showing where the lines of thought can be blurred by sentiment. Laws are not judged by sentiment. THAT is what I was trying to point out.
EXCELLENT point. And you are absolutely correct. The law is the law and right now... as the law stands, I was completely SHOCKED that he was convicted of Conner's "murder". ESPECIALLY in such a liberal state as California.

As much as I agree that he DID murder that baby... I can't see how this verdict won't open up a HUUUUUUGE can of worms in regards to the abortion issue. And that scares me.

EXCELLENT point. And you are absolutely correct. The law is the law and right now... as the law stands, I was completely SHOCKED that he was convicted of Conner's "murder". ESPECIALLY in such a liberal state as California.

As much as I agree that he DID murder that baby... I can't see how this verdict won't open up a HUUUUUUGE can of worms in regards to the abortion issue. And that scares me.

I do believe that my point was missed. Please reread. I was stating how diferent this is to an abortion issue. My main point was the last paragraph which if you look at the case makes a strong argument that this was about the child more than the mother. I was basically speaking of intent in this matter, not law, not abortion. The car accident was not meant to draw a comparison to abortion, but to the way that a true human and caring father would react. My point that abortion is a choice is shown. There was no choice here and clear intent can be shown that if Lacy Peterson was not pregnant she may not have been murdered. Maybe I am not writing this out clearly as I am having a tough time putting this thought down. But I can say that the intent of my post was misinterpreted.

Oh no no no, Jaiz... I totally understood your point. And I agree with it ALSO. I know that must sound weird... but I DO agree that that monster MURDERED that baby. I just don't agree (ACCORDING TO WHAT THE LAW SAYS) that he should have been convicted of his murder. Sentiment aside... you can't murder something that the law doesn't recognize as a "person". That's all I'm saying.

That particular conviction WILL be used as a precident in ANY future judicial issues regarding abortion. Like it or not... even though this wasn't an abortion... the precident can be lawfully used. In the eyes of the law, where supposedly sentiment should not enter (I know that sounds cold, but that's the way it's supposed to work), what makes Conner (an unborn child) any different than ANY unborn child, no matter HOW LONG they've been in the mother's womb.

I'm going to leave this issue alone, since it's got potential to get hot and out of hand. I just wanted to clarify that I DO agree with and understand what you said, Eban. But Pagan was also correct and I agree with him also.

This guy's an evil asshole. Period. He got what he deserved.

One other point -- Connor was the name picked out by both Lacy and Scott. Scott fully knew and recognized that this was his CHILD, not his FETUS. But Scott has never been told no about anything in his life. He's a spoiled brat who got whatever he wanted, provided he stomped and cried enough. That's why he has no remorse, because he has been conditioned to believe that whatever he wants is what the world owes him. I hope he gets sodomized after every meal.

As much as I agree that he DID murder that baby... I can't see how this verdict won't open up a HUUUUUUGE can of worms in regards to the abortion issue. And that scares me.


That I totally agree with. 100 percent.

I don't know how it could affect the law. Since Abortion is a choice. Laci didn't have a choice.

We all know it's a choice. Let's move away from that now....

No one is trying to say that it's the same, but one HAS to be aware of the precident it could set. If the possibility of that can't be seen, it's futile to discuss it.

FETUS: In humans, the unborn young from the end of the eighth week after conception to the moment of birth, as distinguished from the earlier embryo.

The other conviction Scott Peterson got, was a fetus, not a person. He had no birth certificate, no birth date, no official, legal recognition as a human being. Thats why I hate when people say "his wife and unborn son Connor" (besides the fact that I think Connor is a stupid yuppie name).

Now, if people cannot connect the dots between a murder conviction for an UNBORN "person" and the potential havock that may create, then perhaps they shouldnt comment on the situation.

FETUS: In humans, the unborn young from the end of the eighth week after conception to the moment of birth, as distinguished from the earlier embryo.

The other conviction Scott Peterson got, was a fetus, not a person. He had no birth certificate, no birth date, no official, legal recognition as a human being. Thats why I hate when people say "his wife and unborn son Connor" (besides the fact that I think Connor is a stupid yuppie name).

Now, if people cannot connect the dots between a murder conviction for an UNBORN "person" and the potential havock that may create, then perhaps they shouldnt comment on the situation.

I think that if Connor had been months away from being born, it might have been a different story. However, he was merely days from birth, and in all likelihood, capable of sustaining life outside the womb. I do agree with you that it does create a legal vacuum, at least in the area of late term, or partial birth abortion. Also, I agree that Connor is a stupid yuppie name. :thumb: :yesnod: