Posted on 12/03/2004 12:33:31 AM PST by kattracks
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. Scott Peterson's relatives, friends and neighbors yesterday made the convicted wife-slayer out to be the Dalai Lama of San Diego.Longtime friend Aaron Fritz recalled how Peterson participated in a high-school program in which students visited nursing homes and senior centers, and traveled to Mexico to read to orphans.
[snip]
"He's always been a very strong and stable person that I've always looked to as a role model. Sometimes I think about what Scott would do in a certain situation," said Fritz. "He's had a positive impact on everybody he meets."
[snip]
Prosecutors held back from asking Fritz whether Peterson, 32, had a positive impact on his pregnant wife, Laci, whom he killed and dumped in the San Francisco Bay on Christmas Eve 2002.
Defense attorneys asked few questions about how Scott Peterson treated people in the months before his arrest. Instead they focused on his life as a child, teen and young adult.
Scott Peterson wept occasionally as his sister-in-law cried throughout her testimony and pleaded for Scott's life. ,p>Jurors, who wept out loud Tuesday during the testimony of Laci's mother Sharon Rocha, seemed dry-eyed and bored by the defense testimony. The judge pulled a tissue from a box, but only used it to clean his desk.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Several talking head defense lawyers have stated that there is nothing to cause the verdict to be overturned.
LOL!
I can see how you could think he's innocent; it's a lot easier to decide something like that when you don't have ANY of the facts correct.
It's sure what they said about Ted Bundy.
And the whole thing is nonsense in California. This guy will die of old age in the pen while playing cards and watching TV even if he gets the death penalty.
You are delusional.
I love that! Seriously, what is the defense hoping to do here? This just makes Scotty look all the more cold-blooded. How does his sainthood mitigate the heinous deed? Are we to believe that the Saint suffered a momentary lapse in his sainthood when he murdered his wife and unborn child and dumped the bodies in the bay? Other than one slip of the halo, he's nigh unto perfect!
You have been watching too many reruns of the "Forensic Files".
No physical evidence is needed, it's just easier to convict.
How the hell did murderers get convicted in 1980? Get real.
As the one who always tries to see things from both sides I must say this. IF my brother were convicted of murder it would be very hard for me NOT to beg for his life. Yes, it would be difficult, to say the least, as a pro death penalty person to know that my own brother was sentenced to death. My mother would, more than likely, go to an early grave over something like that. Now, I would NOT lie for him, make excuses for his actions or anything like that. If, in fact, he was guilty of something as heinous as murder, I would be the first one to say that he needed to be punished. I believe in accepting responsibility for what you do. But, as a big sister who grew up protecting him, I would be almost emotionally obligated to ask for mercy upon his life. It would be a very difficult situation and I can sympathize with family members who sometimes are secondary victims of the murderers. Does that make sense? Or does it make me sub human?
This guy is pure evil. Maybe someone else out there has, but I have never seen him shed a single tear for Laci and Connor!
How can you be human and not grieve for someone, ESPECIALLY your wife and child being murdered this way? I have cried for people I don't even know! I just cannot fathom his reaction at all....he's beyond sick...he's not human!
I'm a tad confused on the difference between the terms "psycopath" and "sociopath." Which one is Scott and Bundy and why? I've heard both terms used about both murderers.
Hi Janey.
DSM-IV & DSM-IV-TR:
Narcissistic Personality Disorder
Antisocial personality disorder (APD) is a personality disorder which is characterised by antisocial and impulsive behaviour. APD is generally considered to be the same as, or similar to, the disorder that was previously known as psychopathic or sociopathic personality disorder. Approximately 3% of men and 1% of women have some form of antisocial personality disorder (source: DSM-IV).
Although criminal activity is not a necessary requirement for the diagnosis, these individuals often encounter legal difficulties due to their disregard for societal standards and the rights of others. Therefore, many of these individuals can be found in prisons. However, it should be noted that criminal activity does not automatically warrant a diagnosis of APD, nor does a diagnosis of APD imply that a person is a criminal. It is hypothesized that many high achievers exhibit APD characteristics.
Research has shown that individuals with APD are indifferent to the threat of physical pain, and show no indications of fear when so threatened; this may explain their apparent disregard for the consequences of their actions, and their lack of empathy for the suffering of others.
The recent, controversial science of sociobiology attempts to explain animal and human behavior and social structures, largely in terms of evolutionarily stable strategies. For example, in one well-known 1995 paper by Linda Mealey, chronic antisocial/criminal behavior is explained as a combination of two such strategies.
Scott!?! That you?
If my parents were suffering, again the blame goes squarely on the murderer and I would do all I could to comfort and love my innocent parents, but I would NOT get on the stand and cry for the murderer, sorry, does that make me sub-human?
I could cry for the great person that he WAS but not the man he had become. No, your answer doesn't make you subhuman any more than mine makes me such. I think we all would react in our own way.
Now that's an angle I hadn't considered the U.N. corrupt enough to become involved in. Obviously a character flaw on my part. LOL
There's no denying that this situation is distrubing to just about everyone. I understand your thoughts on this.
The notion that you need physicial evidence to convict someone has been called "CSI syndrome". Circumstantial evidence is just that - evidence. There are lots of criminals in prison today put there because of circumstantial evidence. You don't always have an eye witness, a smoking gun, a bloody knife, fingerprints and videotape. If you have a trail of circumstances that add up to overwhelming point to one person, then that person will be hearing the prison doors clang shut behind him.
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