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That is one of the reasons I don't follow the news at the time of a big case like this. I'd rather wait for a book or a documentary when all the information is in.
I sat on a murder trial jury, and I followed the rule of not reading anything in the press about the case, but I asked my mother to save the articles for me.
I read them after the trial, and it was startling to see what the press wrote about vs. what actually was said in the courtroom. Almost without fail, they grabbed on to one thing that was said on any given day and focused on it while leaving a whole lot of other very interesting information out.
Even then, the jury doesn't get to hear everything. I read the book eventually written about the murder, and I learned that there had been several other attempts to kill the guy that weren't presented when the jury was in the room because the defense successfully had argued against them being entered as evidence. (Didn't help the defendant any. He is now in the 27th year of a life sentence with no possibility of parole for 30 years. He was 20 years old when he went to prison.)
Look, I'm certainly not claiming that Scott Peterson is innocent. But in this country the presumption of innocence until proven guilty is a sacred thing, and after listening to the entire story, I'm not sure that there was enough hard evidence to prove that he was guilty.
I'm curious - did you read the book written by Sharon Rocha. She lived it and attended the trial. If anyone had a front row seat as it unfolded, it was Laci's mother. She defended Scott in the beginning and wanted to believe that, as part of her family, he would never do anything to hurt her daughter. Eventually she had to accept that he was involved. I'm sure that was very hard for her - to completely reject everything she believed about him and see him through the lens of evidence that he alone could be responsible for her daughter's disappearance.
His half-sister, who was placed for adoption at birth, also wrote a book. She allowed Scott to live in her parent's home, while they were away, to hide him. She 100% believed in his innocence to her own detriment. She lost friends, her children had to be removed from their play school, her marriage was disintegrating, but she continued to defend him.
If I recall correctly, the turning point for Sharon Rocha and Anne Bird was the gradual awareness of the level of deception in Scott.
I'm curious - did you read the book written by Sharon Rocha. She lived it and attended the trial. If anyone had a front row seat as it unfolded, it was Laci's mother. She defended Scott in the beginning and wanted to believe that, as part of her family, he would never do anything to hurt her daughter. Eventually she had to accept that he was involved. I'm sure that was very hard for her - to completely reject everything she believed about him and see him through the lens of evidence that he alone could be responsible for her daughter's disappearance.
His half-sister, who was placed for adoption at birth, also wrote a book. She allowed Scott to live in her parent's home, while they were away, to hide him. She 100% believed in his innocence to her own detriment. She lost friends, her children had to be removed from their play school, her marriage was disintegrating, but she continued to defend him.
If I recall correctly, the turning point for Sharon Rocha and Anne Bird was the gradual awareness of the level of deception in Scott.
I recall reading something by Anne Bird, but it may have just been an excerpt or an article on the book. I just put Blood Brother on hold at the library. Looking forward to reading it. Thanks for the reminder.
I recall reading something by Anne Bird, but it may have just been an excerpt or an article on the book. I just put Blood Brother on hold at the library. Looking forward to reading it. Thanks for the reminder.
The book was insightful because it gives an overview of Scott connecting with half siblings who were placed for adoption. He stayed at her house and her parent's house. I seem to recall that the "pool chlorine turned my hair orange" incident happened with her.
As an aside, what I found interesting about Scott was that he mirrored the women he dated. If Laci loved to cook, he loved to cook too and they opened a burger joint together. If she loved horticulture, he did too. If Amber Frey was seriously religious, he was too. If he dated a vegan, he was a vegan. He mirrored people to get close to them. They in turn thought they'd met their soulmate.
Watch this video of the man who is desperate to locate his missing pregnant wife. With a missing family member, every phone call might be the news they're waiting for. At 5 minutes, 31 seconds Scott's phone starts ringing. What does he do?
Status:
"I don't understand. But I don't care, so it works out."
(set 11 days ago)
35,637 posts, read 17,989,189 times
Reputation: 50679
Quote:
Originally Posted by LeeHoLee
Where did they keep the body until that came on the news?
Because IIRC (it's been a decade or more since I dug into this story, so maybe I'm wrong) it was at least 24 hours before LE got the straight story from Scott. When was the first news report that Scott had been fishing in the Bay? If the robbers had gone by the first stories he told about golfing, they'd have dumped her on the road to a golf course.
I know there's no way I'd keep a stranger's body in my van for an entire day. Heck, there's no way I'd pick up a dead 180 lb pregnant woman who is a stranger to me and who I have no connection to and put her in my van to begin with. Now if I knew her, and I had killed her in a place that is associated with me, then I might have the motivation to move her.
I don't think many people think whoever did this (if it wasn't Peterson himself) kept her body for any length of time before dumping her.
If you look at Modesto on the map, that just seems a likely place to dump a body, if you have one to dispose of. And that is born out by the fact that other bodies were discovered in the search for Laci.
That looks really good. I did a spot check of the show, and it looks like it might be a very fair rendering of all that happened.
It's long - I'll watch it when I can.
It's 2 hours, but the last hour is a re-hash.
I'm wondering what the strategy is. He successfully appealed the penalty of death sentence. The conviction is upheld. The prosecution intends to pursue the death penalty again. If he has a new sentence of life, rather than death penalty, how does that change his life?
Status:
"I don't understand. But I don't care, so it works out."
(set 11 days ago)
35,637 posts, read 17,989,189 times
Reputation: 50679
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lieneke
It's 2 hours, but the last hour is a re-hash.
I'm wondering what the strategy is. He successfully appealed the penalty of death sentence. The conviction is upheld. The prosecution intends to pursue the death penalty again. If he has a new sentence of life, rather than death penalty, how does that change his life?
In my observation, a sentence of "life" allows the convict a lot of freedoms that death penalty prisoners don't have. Death penalty prisoners are, by and large, completely isolated and have very few options for positive programs within the prison system.
Additionally, Peterson's attorneys are pushing for an entire new trial, not just a new punishment phase, with some encouragement from the legal system.
As I recall (it's been a long time) the Rocha family attempted to sue Peterson for wrongful death in a civil court after he was convicted of murder, and the Rochas dropped that civil lawsuit because the judge in the civil case refused to stipulate Peterson's guilt. The Rocha family would have to retry the ENTIRE criminal case, in the civil court, to establish guilt before proceeding with the civil damages. This is virtually unheard of - civil courts almost always accept the verdict of the criminal courts and proceed from there with damages.
To me, that spelled out the doubt that people who are in the court system had for Peterson's guilty verdict.
Everyone knows he was convicted before the trial started, from the start the defense had to prove him innocent, which is the opposite way our court system works. So I guess the question is now, will he get a retrial, or just re-sentenced? That Richelle Nice lady was a mess and lied when she filled out the juror questionnaire.
6th Amendment;
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.
Whether you believe Peterson is innocent or guilty, by the law of our land he should probably get a new trial, so should Steven Avery for that matter.
Where did they keep the body until that came on the news?
Because IIRC (it's been a decade or more since I dug into this story, so maybe I'm wrong) it was at least 24 hours before LE got the straight story from Scott. When was the first news report that Scott had been fishing in the Bay? If the robbers had gone by the first stories he told about golfing, they'd have dumped her on the road to a golf course.
I know there's no way I'd keep a stranger's body in my van for an entire day. Heck, there's no way I'd pick up a dead 180 lb pregnant woman who is a stranger to me and who I have no connection to and put her in my van to begin with. Now if I knew her, and I had killed her in a place that is associated with me, then I might have the motivation to move her.
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