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I say put him in a bathtub and throw a toaster in...but that is just me.
Jury Recommends Execution for Peterson
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Dec 13, 4:53 PM (ET)
By BRIAN SKOLOFF
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. (AP) - A jury decided Monday that Scott Peterson should be executed for murdering his pregnant wife, Laci, whose Christmas Eve disappearance two years ago was the opening act in a legal drama that captivated the nation.
The jury returned its verdict on the third day of deliberations and after seven days of tearful testimony in the penalty phase of the trial. The jury had two options in deciding the 32-year-old fertilizer salesman's fate: life in prison without parole or death by injection.
I say put him in a bathtub and throw a toaster in...but that is just me.
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Jury recommends death for Peterson
Monday, December 13, 2004 Posted: 4:51 PM EST (2151 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 wife.
The announcement of a jury decision came on the third day of jury deliberations over the sentence.
Earlier Monday, jurors asked to see autopsy photographs of Peterson's 27-year-old wife, Laci, and their unborn son, Conner.
The jury of six men and six women also asked San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Alfred Delucchi if they could see photographs of the shore of San Francisco Bay where the bodies were found separately in April 2003.
The jury requested the last known photograph of Laci Peterson, taken about a week before was reported missing on Christmas Eve 2002, and for Laci's original medical file. She was eight months pregnant at the time. (Timeline)
The jury deliberated longer in the sentencing phase -- about 11 to 11 1/2 hours -- than they did when they reached the guilty verdicts, which took just over seven hours.
The same jury that decided Peterson's sentence convicted him of first-degree murder November 12 in her death and of second-degree murder in the death of Conner. (Full story)
Peterson, 32, faced either the death penalty or life in prison without parole for killing his wife, Laci, and 15 years to life in prison in Conner's death.
During the guilt or innocence phase of the trial, jurors agreed with prosecutors' contention that Peterson strangled or smothered Laci and dumped her body into San Francisco Bay.
Jurors, who were sequestered during deliberations, had to unanimously agree on a death sentence.
At formal sentencing, set for February 25, Delucchi may override a recommendation of death and sentence Peterson to life in prison without parole, but he cannot override a decision of life in prison without parole.
The panel received the case last Thursday after instructions from Judge Delucchi and closing arguments from prosecutors and defense attorneys.
Calling Peterson "the worst kind of monster," prosecutor David Harris urged jurors Thursday to recommend that Peterson die for killing his wife.
Peterson's attorneys begged jurors to spare his life.
"Nobody feels ... that if Scott Peterson was a good golfer, that if Scott Peterson was a Cub Scout, that eases the murder of Laci and Conner," defense attorney Mark Geragos said.
"As I indicated to you, I'm not second-guessing any of your decisions. What we're saying is, that this is a life that has value."
Defense attorney Pat Harris told the jury Peterson "has a lot of good in him" and would be a good candidate to help others in prison.
"There's an opportunity to make something out of a life that has essentially gone wrong, a chance to see that others benefit from the positive part of Scott Peterson, some chance for him to do some good for the rest of his life," Harris said.
Prosecutors said the motive was Peterson's desire to live life as a freewheeling bachelor, unen bered by a wife and child.
During the trial, jurors heard hours of taped telephone conversations between Peterson and his mistress, massage therapist Amber Frey.
During the penalty phase, Peterson's friends and relatives took the stand to plead for his life, calling him a kind person who could benefit others in prison.
Peterson's mother cried on the stand Wednesday as she begged jurors to spare her son's life.
"We would lose a whole family," Jackie Peterson testified. It "would be like they never existed ... such a waste, irreversible."
Prosecutor David Harris urged jurors to reject the argument that life in prison without parole would be worse punishment than death.
"If you have life, he gets to sit in a cell, read a book, write letters; he gets to have life," he said. "All the things that Laci and Conner would love to do, all the things that Laci's family would love to be able to share with Laci and Conner."
He noted that while others were praying for the safe return of Laci and her baby, "the man who knew where they were laughed and lied. ... He is the worst kind of monster."
California law prohibits jurors from considering the emotional effect on defendants' families when deciding on a sentence, and Delucchi instructed jurors not to allow sympathy to be a factor.
Still, CNN legal analyst Kendall Coffey said it would be difficult for jurors to ignore the level of emotion displayed by Jackie Peterson, Scott's mother, or by Sharon Rocha, Laci's mother.
"That's the law, but the jury has 12 human beings on it," said Coffey, a former U.S. attorney.
CNN's Rusty Dornin and Ted Rowlands contributed to this report.
but he was such a nice guy before that whole double murder wife/child thing.....
kudos to the jury.
Well, I certainly am not going to apologize for being very glad to hear that. The sooner he's rotting , the better. IMO.
Has he ever admitted to killing his wife yet?
OH, for the days when they'd march 'em out of the courtroom onto the front lawn of the courthouse and hang 'em.
Let he without sin cast the first stone.
I've never killed anyone to get out of a relationship I didn't want to be in....so I guess you can say I am extremely without sin in this instance.
He will more than likely live longer on death row than he would have in the general population...higher security, etc...you know that in the general population someone would have shanked him for their fifteen minutes of fame...they don't actually execute anyone in California do they?...wasn't the last one in '91?...theres gotta be hundreds of guys already in line ahead of him on "death" row...
Well I've had a woman kill the sex to get out of a relationship.
Yes, I too think he deserves the death penalty.
Well I've had a woman kill the sex to get out of a relationship.
Works everytime.or
?
The sad part of it is that lawyers will attempt to overturn this in days to come. They will try to discredit members of the jury and spare little in doing so. I hope this verdict will stick. Justice was served.
if you are going to go biblical Joe....Thou shalt not kill.
This is true, he will NEVER be put to death. There are hundreds on death row and none of them will ever die at the hands of the state. He will have it much better on death row because he gets to be away from all the s bags who as you say, would rape him and torture him weekly, and possibly kill him w/o any punishment. If one inmate is already serving time for murder and he kills another inmate, he gets no more time than he had, so it means nothing to them if they kill someone in prison.
I wanted him to go to prison for life for this very reason, the death penality in Calf is a joke.
A Made For TV trial ends with the perfect crowd-pleasing finale. Jerry Bruckheimer couldn't have penned a more predictable script.
Then what is the death penalty if not killing?
Just asking. I have no problem with the death penalty except in cases where the defendant was found innocent years after the fact through DNA and was just lucky enough to still be on death row.
I was referring to this statement.Let he without sin cast the first stone.
Yes. Heaven forbid that we ensure that the justice system actually worked without prejudicing someone before we inflict the ultimate punishment. I guess you're particularly in a position to seek immediate imposition of punishment, since you've seen all of the evidence, read all of the pleadings, sit through every day of trial and every hearing that has taken place, and have been privy to every other detail of what's gone on in this case.
Lawyers will appeal this conviction, and hopefully, if the State did its job, those appeals will go nowhere. Lawyers will also appeal the sentence, and might succeed on having his sentence commuted to life. Then again, that might not happen. But for our system of justice to work, lawyers MUST take up that appeal (unless Scott Peterson doesn't want them to) to ensure that the trial was fair, that the State was held to its burden of proof, and that the sentence is just. If all of those things happen (and they likely will here) then Peterson will die in due time.
You know, people hate lawyers who take those appeals because they are "seeking technicalities." But before you go around blaming those lawyers, you might talk to some of those dudes whose convictions and sentences have been overturned in recent years because DNA evidence and other such proof has established that they didn't commit the crimes for which they were convicted. I'm pretty sure that those guys would tell you that appeals in criminal cases are an absolute necessity.
That reminds me ... I have a Wednesday evening Sundance Channel do entary queued up to record en led The Cu ber Incident. It involves 3 women, a man, sexual abuse, vigilante justice, and ... apparently .... a cu ber.
Like Connor?
What a stupid sentence. It should have been slow and painful death.
A fate worse than death has already been handed out to Scott Peterson... The inevitability that his life will be most prominently represented by a Made for TV movie on Lifetime.
When can we expect Lisa and the baby to be brought to life? Is it right after the execution or does somebody need to do a little dance as well?
I don't know about Lisa, but I'm sure Laci's still dead.
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