Free Republic
Browse · Search
Bloggers & Personal
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Convicted By Suspicion -- Why Scott Peterson May Be Innocent
The Hollywood Investigator ^ | 11/30/2004 | J. Neil Schulman

Posted on 11/30/2004 10:26:51 AM PST by J. Neil Schulman

 
 
 
 
 

CONVICTED BY SUSPICION -- WHY SCOTT PETERSON MAY BE INNOCENT

by J. Neil Schulman, guest contributor. 

[November 30, 2004]
 

[HollywoodInvestigator.com]  Scott Peterson may or may not have murdered his wife, Laci, and their unborn child.  But the Redwood City, California trial that has just convicted Peterson of murdering Laci with premeditation was a kangaroo court in which none of the elements necessary to achieve a murder conviction were offered, much less proved beyond a reasonable doubt.

    The first element that needs to be proved in any murder trial is that a murder has occurred.  There was never a determination by any California medical examiner that the cause of Laci Peterson’s death was homicide.  No medical examiner was able to determine the cause of Laci Peterson's death, nor even prove to a medical certainty in what week beyond her disappearance on Christmas Eve that she died.

    A thorough examination of the residence where Scott and Laci Peterson lived together, by teams of detectives and forensic experts, uncovered no evidence whatsoever that a crime had occurred there. 

    No crime scene was ever found.

    No forensic evidence was found in the Petersons’ motor vehicles lending any foundation to the suspicion that she had ever been transported in one of them -- alive or dead -- to the place where, months later, her body was found. 

    No weapon was ever produced with any evidence that it had been used to cause Laci Peterson’s death.

    No witness was produced who had seen or heard Scott Peterson argue with Laci near the time of her disappearance, much less any witness who had seen Scott Peterson fight with his wife or kill her.

    The only forensic evidence produced in court that even presumptively linked Scott Peterson with the death of his wife was a strand of hair that DNA analysis showed to be Laci's, in a pliers found in Scott Peterson’s fishing boat.  A police detective interviewed a witness who had seen Laci in the boat warehouse where Scott stored that boat.  Even in the absence of this witness statement to a police detective, the rules of forensic transference indicate that transference of trace evidence between a husband and wife who lived together is common, and not indicative of foul play. 

    No witness ever saw Laci in that fishing boat, nor did any witness ever testify to seeing Scott Peterson bringing a corpse-sized parcel onto his fishing boat.  Thus, the fishing boat never should have been allowed into evidence, nor should prosecution speculation into his dumping her body using that boat have been permitted.

    Nor was any evidence offered in court showing that Scott Peterson had engaged in any overt activities in planning of a murder.  He was not observed buying, or even shopping for, weapons or poison.  Police detectives found no records in his computer logs that he was spending time researching methods of murder.  No evidence was offered that he ever considered hiring someone to kill her.

    No evidence was offered in court indicating that Scott Peterson had any reasonable motive for murdering his wife, such as monetary gain, or to protect great marital assets that he’d lose as an adulterer in a divorce in California, a no-fault community-property state, or because Scott had some basis to believe he had been cuckolded.

    So in a case without an ME’s finding of homicide or a known time of death; 

    without a single witness to a crime having occurred; 

    without a crime scene;

    without a murder weapon;

    without any indisputable forensic evidence linking the defendant husband to his wife’s death; 

    without an obvious motive;

    without the prosecution presenting conclusive direct or circumstantial evidence overcoming every single exculpatory scenario by which Laci Peterson might have otherwise come to her death; 

    in summation, without the prosecution demonstrating that Scott Peterson and only Scott Peterson had the means and opportunity to murder his wife and transport her alive or dead to the San Francisco Bay in which her body was found ... how is it possible that Scott Peterson has just been convicted of a premeditated murder with special circumstances warranting the death penalty?

    It comes down to this: Scott Peterson was having an adulterous affair at the time of his wife’s disappearance, and Scott Peterson is a cad and a bounder.

    Scott Peterson repeatedly lied to everyone around him – including his new mistress – to further the pursuit of this affair.  This pattern of lying was established by audio tapes of his phone conversations with his mistress that were played in court.  But these tapes were played before the jury without any foundation for their playing being offered, since their playing spoke to no element required for conviction in the crime with which he was charged.  And these tapes -- which were more prejudicial than probitive -- destroyed Scott Peterson's credibility to appear as a potential witness in his own defense.  They served only to make the jury hate Scott Peterson.

    Scott Peterson found himself at the center of a media circus, and his attempts to change his appearance and escape being followed can equally be interpreted as either avoidance of the media who were stalking him or avoidance of police who were tracking him.

    The bodies of Laci Peterson and her unborn child were discovered in close proximity to the location where Scott Peterson said he had been fishing at the time of her disappearance.  But those bodies were found after months of all-media publicity in which Peterson’s alibi was broadcast and published, and if Laci had been murdered by some third party, the murderer would have easily had both means and motive to dump her body at that location to convict Scott and end pursuit of themselves for that murder.

    In any case where more than one explanation of a fact can be offered, the judge’s charge instructs the jury that the explanation suggesting innocence is the one they are legally required to adopt in their deliberations. 

    Scott Peterson was convicted at trial of murder possibly leading to a death sentence in which the trial judge allowed prosecutors to speculate in front of a jury on how Scott Peterson might have murdered his wife.  Anyone who’s watched a single episode of Perry Mason or Law & Order knows the judge is charged with forbidding such speculation unless there is a foundation of facts in evidence.

    No such foundation was presented indicating a method of murder in the murder trial of Scott Peterson.

    In other words, Scott Peterson looked and acted guilty, and in the age of 24-hour -a-day TV news networks that have to fill up those hours with ratings-producing subjects, Scott Peterson’s trial and conviction was the perfect storm of Guilty by Suspicion.

    Scott Peterson may very well have been convicted of a murder that he committed.  If so, he was convicted in a case that under our system of justice – in which the presumption of innocence may only rightfully be overcome by evidence that is convincing beyond a reasonable doubt – never should have been allowed into court, much less handed over to a jury.

    The jury that convicted Scott Peterson was a lynch mob inflamed by prejudicial testimony and their conviction of Scott Peterson qualifies as a hate crime.  The verdict needs to be overturned on appeal.  The judge brought out of retirement to preside over the case needs to be retired again.  The prosecution needs to be brought up on civil rights charges to make sure this behavior is punished.

    May God have mercy on Scott Peterson’s soul if he is, in fact, a psychopath who spent Christmas Eve murdering his pregnant wife so he could avoid the inconvenience of a divorce.

    And may God have equal mercy on the prosecutors, judge, and jurors who have taken away Scott Peterson’s life – whether through a sentence of life imprisonment or death by lethal injection – if they have allowed their disgust for a deeply flawed man to whip them into a passion in which suspicion in the absence of any proof was sufficient to convict him. 

Copyright © 2004 by J. Neil Schulman.  All rights reserved.
 

J. Neil Schulman's book, The Frame of the Century?, presents as strong a case for a suspect other than O.J. Simpson in the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson as was presented to convict Scott Peterson in the murder of Laci Peterson.  Our sister publication, the Weekly Universe, has previously reported on Schulman's 'Vulcan Mind Meld with God' and his discovery of an eye drop that cures cataracts.



TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: evidence; fresnoda; innocentmyass; laci; murder; peterson; scott; trial; trials
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 321-340341-360361-380381-395 next last
To: Rodney King

Yes, I saw his "bye bye" post. That's why I didn't ping him. Anyway, his "answers" weren't any more enlightening or accurate than his article.


361 posted on 12/02/2004 7:50:06 AM PST by .38sw
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 359 | View Replies]

To: sissyjane

I would think JR would frown on it. I checked his "in forum" comments. Seems that his posting history pretty much consists of posting his fascinating articles. Which he's doing for free, by the way!


362 posted on 12/02/2004 7:51:18 AM PST by .38sw
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 360 | View Replies]

To: Alaska Wolf
Yeah, I think he should get off so he and O.J. can search for the real murderers.

On golf courses.

363 posted on 12/02/2004 7:59:47 AM PST by the Deejay
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 357 | View Replies]

To: FoxPro
They dont even know how Laci died, for crying out loud.

Many have been justly convicted without a body being recovered. (I've seen many of those trials.)

364 posted on 12/02/2004 8:08:07 AM PST by the Deejay
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 77 | View Replies]

To: J. Neil Schulman
.... who have taken away Scott Peterson’s life – ,,,,

Good grief. If Peterson gets the death sentence it won't be carried out next week. It will probably take about 20 years, if at all, during which time Laci and baby Conner will still be very dead. Plenty of time to find the "real" killer.

365 posted on 12/02/2004 8:09:51 AM PST by barker (I have knocked on the door of this man's soul and found someone home, Zell Miller on GWBush)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: iconoclast
What evidence was there that she was murdered?

She's dead.

You think she walked the dog out to the bay (90 miles from home), drowned herself & the dog made his way back home, dragging his leash?

Would that be your theory perhaps?

366 posted on 12/02/2004 8:12:49 AM PST by the Deejay
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 69 | View Replies]

To: blondee123
You're quoting logic. And I'm not saying I disagree with you. But you do agree, that the case is a little short on facts. And you do agree that there is at least one juror who thought Scott didn't do it who has been removed from the jury.

This was not our court system at it's finest. This was a lynching. Maybe deserved so, but maybe not.

367 posted on 12/02/2004 8:18:45 AM PST by kjam22 (What you win them by, is what you win them to)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 297 | View Replies]

To: kjam22
This was a lynching.

Really? Scott's been lynched? hmmmm. News to me.

368 posted on 12/02/2004 8:21:35 AM PST by the Deejay
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 367 | View Replies]

To: the Deejay

a metaphorical lynching..... I'm sorry you didn't understand that.


369 posted on 12/02/2004 8:23:33 AM PST by kjam22 (What you win them by, is what you win them to)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 368 | View Replies]

To: barker
If Peterson gets the death sentence it won't be carried out next week.

He will outlive his entire family. And die of old age, unless killed by another inmate.

370 posted on 12/02/2004 8:57:57 AM PST by the Deejay
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 365 | View Replies]

To: the Deejay
Here's a tip for the future.

View the replies to a post BEFORE you reply yourself.

371 posted on 12/02/2004 9:33:36 AM PST by iconoclast (Conservative, not partisan)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 366 | View Replies]

To: J. Neil Schulman
Laci's body was not found bound with duct tape. Considering that when her body was recovered it lacked head, arms, or lower legs, there was little that could have been restrained with duct tape.

I didn't think it was possible for you to look more foolish.

Do the research, Bud, READ the transcripts. Until then, it's clear you're spewing your own fictional version of this case.

Poopoo!

372 posted on 12/02/2004 10:27:43 AM PST by Velveeta
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 333 | View Replies]

To: Graymatter

This is the only loose end I see in this case---a cement anchor........

I don't think Peterson is the sharpest knife in the drawer. What expectant father would leave his very pregnant wife to go fishing on Christmas Eve. I'm a dedicated hunter and fisherman, but there are limits.


373 posted on 12/02/2004 11:54:39 AM PST by Alaska Wolf (Trained by English Setters)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 98 | View Replies]

To: Darksheare

Jury of his "pears"?


374 posted on 12/02/2004 12:00:18 PM PST by spiralsue (I will never forget 9/11)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 343 | View Replies]

To: spiralsue

*grins*
You caught that?

I do so love ragging on Johnny Cochrane.


375 posted on 12/02/2004 12:01:35 PM PST by Darksheare (I have friends, and I have co-conspirators.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 374 | View Replies]

To: FoxPro

The jury convicted him because they hated him, not because they didn't have a reasonable doubt.

This is nearly, literally, a high tech lynching.

I hope you never have to sit in front of a jury that hates you


I hate all murderers. And I would think that the average law-abiding citizen feels the same. Do you think OJ was innocent?


376 posted on 12/02/2004 12:08:17 PM PST by Alaska Wolf (Trained by English Setters)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 71 | View Replies]

To: Darksheare

To properly rag on Johnny C
You got to rhyme, you see
Because Peterson was framed
And some jurors were shamed
The body was in pieces
So the prosecution ceases
His lies were legit
So the jury must acquit

Or something...


377 posted on 12/02/2004 12:12:35 PM PST by spiralsue (I will never forget 9/11)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 375 | View Replies]

To: spiralsue

I know.
I just can't rhyme to save my life!


378 posted on 12/02/2004 12:13:38 PM PST by Darksheare (I have friends, and I have co-conspirators.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 377 | View Replies]

To: Darksheare

Me neither... I had to force it and it shows. Not very creative.

This thread is so hilarious! That people would actually defend this guy....

One thing I know... Criminals are stupid. That's why they get caught and even a couple million dollar attorneys can't convince 12 people he didn't do it. He *could* have gotten away with it had he been more careful. But I don't want the kids out there to get the idea that someone could ever get away with murder, except OJ, of course.

And those who twist logic by saying "killing Peterson will not bring Laci back" just don't get it and never will. It's a liberal thing.

I have a suspicion that even if the a**hole gets "life without parole," some reliable criminal may exercise the death penalty on his a** anyway. Remember Dahmer.
~S~


379 posted on 12/02/2004 12:27:36 PM PST by spiralsue (I will never forget 9/11)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 378 | View Replies]

To: Alaska Wolf

you make absolutely no sense.

The jury has been sequestered - I have not heard any report that "they hated Scott Peterson" We can only presume they might.
The jury found Scott Peterson guilty beyond a reasonable doubt as it was required to do.
It must be either "nearly" or "literally" a lynching, it cannot be both.
I hope you are right about having to sit before a jury that "hates" - the voire dire is designed to eliminate that possibility.
So you hate all murderers - that is useful to know.
I don't pretend to know what the average law abiding citizen hates.
The jury found that O.J. was not guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
I believe O.J. was guilty as the civil case demonstrated.


380 posted on 12/02/2004 1:18:08 PM PST by sodpoodle (sparrows are underrated)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 376 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 321-340341-360361-380381-395 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
Bloggers & Personal
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson