Posted on 03/16/2005 9:59:57 AM PST by Howlin
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. - Shackled at the waist, Scott Peterson returned to court Wednesday to learn his fate for the slaying of his wife and her fetus, four months after jurors found the former fertilizer salesman guilty of their murders.
Peterson was escorted into San Mateo County Superior Court under heavy security, wearing a dark suit and handcuffs chained to his waist. Ten of the 12 jurors who sentenced him to death in December sat in the jury box.
Judge Alfred A. Delucchi was set to decide Wednesday whether to grant the former fertilizer salesman a new trial, sentence him to death - as the jury recommended - or give him life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Peterson, 32, was convicted Nov. 12 of two counts of murder in the deaths of his wife and her fetus. The jury recommended the death penalty a month later.
Hours before the hearing began, Peterson's former mistress, star witness Amber Frey, said she stood by her decision to turn to police. Peterson's lawyer is challenging the use of telephone conversations she recorded for the trial.
"As far as having not come forward there may not - and certainly in the jurors' eyes - there would not have been justice, so I stand by my choices and my decisions that I made," Frey told NBC's "Today" show Wednesday.
In asking for a new trial, defense lawyer Mark Geragos said Peterson's telephone calls to Frey should not have been admitted. He said Peterson never implicated himself in the crime during the calls and that authorities should not have tapped his phone.
Geragos also said prosecutors withheld evidence that a state prison inmate claimed he heard that Laci Peterson had interrupted a burglary at a neighbor's home in Modesto on Dec. 24, 2002, the day she was reported missing.
Scott Peterson claims he went fishing that day, and Geragos says the tip "points to the conclusion that Laci was alive after Scott left for the day."
"If the evidence were presented at a retrial, it is highly probable a different result would have occurred," Geragos wrote.
But prosecutor David Harris said the burglary happened two days after Laci Peterson's disappearance. He said the evidence was handed over a year before the trial started and would not have changed the verdict.
"His claim is reminiscent of the 'boy who cried wolf,' " Harris said.
The motion for a new trial, filed Feb. 25 in Redwood City, also claimed the judge erroneously dismissed two jurors, and erred in denying Geragos' motion for a second change of venue.
That entire family is a piece of work. They should start their own TV show. I'd pay good money to watch that entertainment.
The girl on CTV said that everybody was crying, even the detectives, except Scott was talking to his attorney.
Scott Peterson stared down every witness per Court TV. Scott not paying attention to the judge, instead chatting with Mark Geragos.
perhaps that will be while he is bending over with BUBBA holding his collar and giving his buddies a free round doing whatever they do.......Mom and Dad can bring preparation H if they are allowed to see him. If there was anything in the world anybody could do for the Rochas, this was it.
LOL......now now........
Rocha spoke to Scott Peterson directly.
"I would hope that yo regret the choices that you made. Maybe you don't," Rocha said. "Did you really hate Laci and Conner that much or did you just dislike yourself?"
They've got a lot of pent up emotion. They've kept quiet for over two years.
Within the next 6 months, I expect we may be hearing the news that Scott has had a shive thrust into his back. Prison justice.
Thank you for saying what was on my mind...sw
LACI'S MOTHER: 'YOU DESERVE TO BURN IN HELL FOR ALL ETERNITY'
By Jessie Seyfer
Mercury News
Judge Alfred Delucchi sentenced Scott Peterson to die by lethal injection for the murders of his wife, Laci Peterson, and they unborn son they were going to name Conner.
While issuing his decision in a Redwood City courtroom this morning, Delucchi called the killing ``cruel, uncaring, heartless and callous.''
Delucchi said that ``the factors in aggravation are so substantial when compared to the factors of mitigation that death is warranted.''
The judge then allowed members of Laci Peterson's family to speak, which touched off a shouting match and led to Scott Peterson's father leaving the courtroom.
``I hope you regret the choices you've made,'' said Laci's brother, Brent Rocha. ``How do you not know that it's not right to take someone else's life? Why did you have to kill? Did you really hate Laci and Conner that much or did you dislike yourself?''
Rocha called Scott Peterson ``evil'' and said that when the verdict was handed down in January he went out and bought a gun.
``I chose not to kill you myself,'' Rocha said, ``because you would have to sweat it out.''
He told Peterson that it may take 25 years before he's executed, but that ultimately he'll have to face his crime -- and his victims.
``By the way, when you walk to that execution chamber, look out and you'll see Brooks Island,'' Rocha said, ``and you'll know that Laci and Conner have come to take you away.''
Other members of Laci Peterson's family spoke, including her mother, Sharon Rocha.
``There's unbelievable sadness in my heart for the loss of what was and what should have been,'' she told Peterson. ``The Scott I knew was the one Laci loved and I entrusted him with her. Scott you made a conscious decision to murder Laci and Conner; you planned and executed their murders. Yes, you did. You decided to throw Laci and Conner away and dispose of them as if they're just a piece of garbage.''
She then told Peterson that he got ``what you deserve and that's death.''
``We had to bury Laci without her arms to hold her baby and without her head to kiss and smell her baby,'' she told him. ``You have no idea what that does to my soul.''
She finished by suggesting what must have gone through her daughter's mind and the offered her own parting shot: ``Now, Scott Peterson I'm saying this to you. You deserve to burn in hell for all eternity.''
Earlier this morning, Delucchi also denied a motion from Peterson's attorneys for a new trial.
The same jury that convicted Peterson of first- and second-degree murder recommended in December that Peterson be put to death. Delucchi agreed: ``The court is satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant, Scott Lee Peterson, is guilty of first-degree murder.''
The former Modesto fertilizer salesman entered the Redwood City courtroom wearing a dark suit and shackled at the waist with handcuffs.
Delucchi's denial of the motion for a new trial was expected. Much of the rationale used by Peterson's lawyer, Mark Geragos, in his motion -- two jurors should not have been dismissed, the trial should have been moved from San Mateo County, various evidence should not have been allowed -- already had been ruled on by Delucchi during the trial and deliberations.
jurors speaking now on Fox. During the sentencing "Scott had no emotion on his face. Scott was just being Scott."
Jury press conference! On all cables!
Yes, and I am happy that they were allowed to express it in their own fashion.
You have to admit it would be some kind of poetic justice for a little torture as he views the bay, on a daily basis, for the rest of his life (as long as that is).
"Sittin' in the block by the bay, waiting for my butt pain to go away...."
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
Jury earlier found him guilty of murdering wife, fetus.
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. - A judge on Wednesday sentenced Scott Peterson to die for the murder of his wife and their unborn child.
Judge Alfred Delucchi had to decide whether to sentence Peterson to death — as a jury recommended — or give him life in prison without the possibility of parole.
In upholding the jury`s recommendation, the judge found that the killings "were cruel, uncaring, heartless and callous."
"The court is satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant, Scott Lee Peterson, is guilty of first-degree murder," Delucchi said.
‘Death is warranted’
"The factors in aggravation are so substantial when compared to the factors of mitigation that death is warranted," he added.
Shackled at the waist and wearing a dark suit, Peterson was escorted into San Mateo County Superior Court under heavy security. Attorneys, reporters and relatives of both Scott and Laci Peterson packed the courtroom.
Laci`s family speaks in court
The judge allowed family members to speak, prompting a shouting match that led to Scott Peterson`s father storming out of the courtroom.
Brent Rocha, Laci Peterson`s brother, read a statement addressed to Peterson, saying that "your delusional life would have been over" if their child had been born.
Sharon Rocha, Laci Peterson`s mother, also spoke to Scott Peterson, saying, "How dare you murder her. She was my daughter ... Laci loved you with all her heart."
"You`re nothing ... you have no soul," she added, saying that there is "a huge hole in my heart that will never heal ... I miss being my daughter`s mother... I`ll never meet my grandson."
Peterson, 32, was convicted Nov. 12 of two counts of murder in the deaths of his wife and her fetus. The jury recommended the death penalty a month later.
Peterson could soon be headed to death row at San Quentin State Prison.
Amber Frey, who had a relationship with Peterson shortly before his wife vanished and helped prosecutors with her testimony, told NBC`s "Today" show earlier Wednesday that she wouldn`t be in court. As for a punishment, she felt that life in prison would be harder on Peterson than a death penalty because he`d have to live with his actions for years to come.
Arguments for new trial
The judge initially dismissed a motion for a new trial.
In court papers unsealed Monday, Peterson’s lawyers had requested a new trial. Defense lawyer Mark Geragos said Peterson’s telephone calls to Frey should not have been admitted. He said Peterson never implicated himself in the crime during the calls and that authorities should not have tapped his phone.
Geragos also claimed that prosecutors withheld evidence that a state prison inmate claimed he heard that Laci Peterson had interrupted a burglary at a neighbor’s home in Modesto on Dec. 24, 2002, the day she disappeared.
Scott Peterson claims he went fishing that day, and Geragos says the tip “points to the conclusion that Laci was alive after Scott left for the day.”
But prosecutor David Harris said the burglary happened two days after Laci Peterson’s disappearance. He said the evidence would not have changed the verdict.
Geragos said he became aware of the tip about six weeks before the verdict and later discovered “a small notation in hundreds of pages of tip sheets” provided by prosecutors before the trial.
Prosecutor: Tip was known year earlier He said it took several weeks to investigate and prison tapes that would have confirmed the tips were no longer available.
“If the evidence were presented at a retrial, it is highly probable a different result would have occurred,” Geragos wrote.
Harris said the tip was provided to defense attorneys a year before the trial started. “His claim is reminiscent of the ’boy who cried wolf,”’ Harris said.
The motion for a new trial also claimed the judge erroneously dismissed two jurors, and erred in denying Geragos’ motion for a second change of venue.
Geragos also alleges that Frey, who wrote a book about the case, wanted to see Peterson convicted so that she could sell more copies.
Frey`s lawyer, Gloria Allred, said she had filed an objection Wednesday morning against the allegation. "She was not planning a book at that time or discussing it," Allred told "Today."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Per Greta: Even the judge said he was 'callous and cruel'.
I wish Sharon could know how many of us pray for her and her family.
I czn't even imagine the depth of their despair and the height of their rage. We have witnessed a monster.
Been watching..
btw, anyone know the verdict in the Johnson trial?
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