Scott Peterson

[crusader1234]

Scott Peterson was just sentenced to death.

Please pray for him.

Note: Please keep debates in the debate table.

[ForHimAlone]

[Brother Adam]

-_-

[Brother Adam]

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — The jury that convicted Scott Peterson (search) of murdering his wife and unborn baby recommended Monday that he get the death penalty.

The verdict was read just before 5 p.m. EST (2 p.m. PST) Monday and broadcast via audio feed.

Peterson clenched his jaw when the verdict was read and leaned over to speak with his attorney, Mark Geragos, but showed no other emotion.

As the death recommendation was read, Laci Peterson's mother, Sharon Rocha, cried, her lips quivering. Scott Peterson's mother, Jackie, showed no apparent emotion.

Geragos spoke briefly to reporters after the recommendation was handed down.

"Obviously, we're very disappointed," said Geragos. "Obviously, we plan on pursuing ... all appeals, motions for a new trial and everything else. All I ask is that you respect Jackie and Lee's [Peterson's] and the family’s privacy for the next week or so. At some point, they'll make a statement. At that time, they'll field questions. In the interim, I hope you can understand that it's a very difficult time."

All 12 jurors were expected to attend a press conference Monday afternoon. Only three planned to speak.

The six-man, six-woman jury found Peterson guilty Nov. 12 of first-degree murder in the killing of his pregnant wife Laci Peterson (search) and second-degree murder in the death of the fetus she was carrying.

The same panel had to choose between life in prison without parole or death by lethal injection.

Judge Alfred A. Delucchi (search) will formally impose a sentence on Peterson, 32, on Feb. 25 and can choose to downgrade the punishment to life in prison without parole, though it's rare for judges to reduce a jury's verdict in a capital murder case.

Had the jury recommended life behind bars, Delucchi wouldn't have been able to change it to the death penalty.

The recommendation was delivered after the jury returned from a lunch break.

A crowd of several hundred gathered outside the San Mateo County Courthouse broke out in cheers and scattered applause after the sentencing verdict was broadcast. The scene was reminiscent of the guilty verdicts on Nov. 12, when about 1,000 people descended on the streets outside, most of them erupting in support of the jury's decision.

Peterson's defense team plans to appeal his conviction.

The announcement of a verdict in the penalty phase of the murder trial followed the jury's request to review some evidence and capped a chaotic morning for the panel.

Only a couple of hours into their third day of deliberations Monday, jurors gave a note to the judge asking to review more than a dozen pieces of evidence.

Among the 13 items requested, jurors asked for several of the grim autopsy photographs of the remains of Laci and her nearly full-term fetus; aerial pictures of San Francisco Bay, where the bodies were found; a widely publicized photo of Laci wearing a red maternity pantsuit with her hands folded across her lap; and Laci's OB/GYN medical files.

Also Monday, Delucchi called jurors into chambers one by one for questioning, with Peterson present, because something happened over the weekend while they were sequestered that forced him to poll them individually.

It wasn't known what the reason behind the individual interrogations was, but the matter was resolved and the jury resumed deliberations Monday after the 20-minute break.

The request to review evidence came after about two hours of discussions; about half of the items remain under seal. It was not immediately clear what the rest of the evidence was, although 12 of the items requested were presented by the prosecution at trial.

The autopsy photos were shown to the jury during trial but remain out of public view. The aerial photographs and candid picture of Laci are public.

The jury was sequestered all weekend at a hotel after an 8 1/2 hour deliberation session Friday about whether to recommend life in prison or the death penalty for Peterson.

The jurors had to unanimously agree to recommend the death penalty.

In arguing for death, prosecutors called Peterson "the worst kind of monster" and said he was undeserving of sympathy. The defense begged jurors to "go back there and please spare his life."

Defense attorneys called 39 witnesses over seven days in the penalty phase of Peterson's double-murder trial. Prosecutors called just four of Laci's family members, all on the first day, Nov. 30

Prosecutors say Peterson strangled or smothered his wife on or around Christmas Eve 2002 and dumped the body in San Francisco Bay (search).

Peterson claims he was fishing alone that day.

If jurors had been unable to agree on a sentence, prosecutors would have had to decide whether to retry just the penalty phase or to accept a default sentence of life in prison.

The decision came almost two years to the date after the disappearance of Laci Peterson, a 27-year-old substitute teacher who married her college sweetheart and was soon to be the proud mother of a baby boy named Conner. The story set off a tabloid frenzy as suspicion began to swirl around Scott Peterson, who claimed to have been fishing by himself on Christmas Eve and was carrying on an affair with a massage therapist at the time.

The remains of Laci and the fetus washed ashore about four months later, just a few miles from where Peterson claims to have gone fishing in San Francisco Bay. The case went to trial in June, and Peterson was convicted Nov. 12 of two counts of murder.

All the while, the case never stopped making headlines.

The case graced more People magazine covers than any murder investigation in the publication's history. Court TV thrived during the case, providing countless hours of coverage on the investigation and gavel-to-gavel commentary throughout the trial. Cable networks broadcast show after show with pundits picking apart legal strategies, testimony and even Scott Peterson's demeanor.

Trial regulars showed up by the hundreds to participate in the daily lottery for the coveted 27 public seats inside the courtroom.

Peterson will now be sent to death row at San Quentin State Prison outside San Francisco, the infamous lockup where prisoners gaze out small cell windows overlooking the same bay where Laci Peterson's body was discarded.

Peterson still might not be executed for decades, if ever. That is because California's death row has grown to house more than 640 condemned men and women since the state brought back capital punishment in 1978. Since then, only 10 executions have been carried out. It can take years for even the first phase of the appeals process to begin.

California's last execution was on Jan. 29, 2002, when Stephen Wayne Anderson — described by supporters as the poet laureate of Death Row — was put to death by lethal injection for the Memorial Day 1980 murder of 81-year-old Elizabeth Lyman during a break-in at her home.

As many as three murderers face possible execution in 2005, said Department of Corrections spokeswoman Margot Bach.

[Piccoli Fiori JMJ]

-_-

[azaelia]

-_-

[spathariossa]

Prayers. Who knows, maybe God can change his heart.


Edit: But make sure to pray for the victims Lacy and Connor too...

Edited December 14, 2004 by spathariossa

[DancesforLove]

I will pray for Lacy and Connor but my heart has no pity on his soul for what he did. He should pray for the forgiveness of God but I will only pray he learns the extent of what he has done.

[J.R.D]

He shouldnt be gettin it

thats real nice of u chelsea

i as mad when i found out so ... im like all agasnt it

[DancesforLove]

[quote name='crusader1234' date='Dec 13 2004, 06:02 PM'] Scott Peterson was just sentenced to death.
Please pray for him.

Note: Please keep debates in the debate table. [/QUOTE]
[/QUOTE]He shouldnt be gettin it

thats real nice of u chelsea

i as mad when i found out so ... im like all agasnt it[QUOTE]

That is my opinion you should respect it just as I respect yours and if you have that much of a problem with my opinion talk about it somewhere else or hold your tongue, don't condemn me for what I believe and I won't do it to you.

Edited December 14, 2004 by DancesforLove

[spathariossa]

[quote name='DancesforLove' date='Dec 13 2004, 08:36 PM'] That is my opinion you should respect it just as I respect yours and if you have that much of a problem with my opinion talk about it somewhere else or hold your tongue, don't condemn me for what I believe and I won't do it to you. [/quote]
She didn't condemn anyone, she just asked you and others not to start a debate over whether we should pray for him. If you don't want to then don't.

[DancesforLove]

You misunderstood my post. I was replying to Johns post to me. I was pointing out she said not to debate it.

[spathariossa]

[quote name='DancesforLove' date='Dec 13 2004, 08:49 PM'] You misunderstood my post. I was replying to Johns post to me. I was pointing out she said not to debate it. [/quote]
My apologies.

[DancesforLove]

No problem I didn't realize it until you said that, it does appear confusing.

[Ash Wednesday]

I'll pray for Peterson, Laci, Connor, and the families.

I'm not so sure I'd want to see the death penalty because I don't know how I feel about capital punishment in itself, but don't expect me to join in on the Scotty Peterson Pity Party. He brought his own woes on himself.

[Guest T-Bone]

Ditto