Free Republic

NASHVILLE, N.C. -- Convicted murderer Michael Peterson has received a minor prison infraction for having too many postage stamps, a state Department of Correction spokesman said. Stamps are a hot commodity behind bars, according to spokesman Keith Acree, because prisoners use them for trading and bartering. Indigent inmates used to receive, all at once, 10 stamps a month, but because too many inmates were using them for other purposes, the policy was changed. Now, inmates get one stamp about every three days. A former Durham newspaper columnist and novelist, Peterson was declared indigent in October 2003 after he was convicted...

Michael Peterson in fight in prison, hospitalized The Associated Press ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. (AP) - Novelist and convicted murderer Michael Peterson was back in his prison cell Wednesday as administrators tried to determine whether he was assaulted or started a fight. Peterson was examined at Nash General Hospital after Tuesday's fight and returned to his single-bed cell about three hours later, said Bonnie Boyette, correctional administrator at Nash Correctional Institution. "His condition is not life threatening," Boyette said Wednesday. She said the fight with one other person occurred between 8:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. Tuesday. Boyette said the fight happened...

DURHAM, N.C. - Novelist Michael Peterson was convicted Friday of murdering his wife, whose body was found in a pool of blood at the bottom of a staircase in their home. Peterson, 59, remained motionless as the verdict was read and each juror asked if he or she agreed with it. With the verdict, he was automatically sentenced to life in prison without parole. Peterson, whose books include the 1990 Vietnam novel "A Time of War" and its 1995 sequel, "A Bitter Peace," was convicted of beating his second wife, Kathleen Peterson, in December 2001. Prosecutors said he may have...

Report: Peterson friend died of homicide By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS DURHAM, N.C. - A medical examiner says homicide, not a stroke, caused the death 18 years ago of a friend of novelist Michael Peterson, whose wife died in December 2001 under similar circumstances. Elizabeth Ratliff died of blunt trauma to her head, according to the report released today. Peterson is to go on trial next today on charges of killing his wife, Kathleen Peterson, at their house in Durham. Kathleen Peterson was found at the base of a staircase. Ratliff was found dead in 1985 at the bottom of a...