Scott Peterson, who was convicted for the murder of his wife and unborn child, appealed to the California Supreme Court. He believes that publicity around his case, which was overwhelming, along with shaky evidence, affected the decision of the jury. He was convicted in 2002, for murdering his wife Laci who was pregnant with his unborn son. In the appeal that was 427 pages long, the defendants mentioned that prosecutors had no real evidence of when, where or how Laci was murdered. It also mentioned that extreme publicity around the case caused the jury to be biased during the trial.
Defendant’s statement
Peterson’s main lawyer, Cliff Gardner mentioned that the case around his client was the least overwhelming. He also stated that there was not the slightest physical evidence, no admissions, no confessions and no eyewitnesses who linked his client to the crime.
Contents of the appeal
Almost half of the potential jurors mentioned in the pretrial questioning that they believed the murder was committed by the Modesto fertilizer salesman, stated the appeal. The appeal also mentioned the board which was present outside the courthouse, requesting people to vote if they believed Peterson was a ‘man or monster’.
The appeal also stated that the public was so outraged that police feared Peterson would be killed during the time of arrest. Peterson’s lawyers also thought that their client would not receive a fair trial and requested the case be moved to Los Angeles County from Stanislaus County. In response to this, the case was then relocated by a judge to San Mateo County, which is located around 90 miles from Modesto.
Christopher Morales is an experienced San Francisco Criminal Lawyer. If you want an expert Murder Defense Lawyer In San Francisco to defend you on a murder case, contact us.