Update on Scott Peterson appeal

The California Supreme Court has appointed Cliff Gardner as Scott’s appellate attorney. As you may recall, our family retained attorneys Cliff Gardner and Larry Gibbs in March of 2005 to begin work on the habeas (investigation) petition for Scott’s case. All aspects of Scott’s appeal can now move forward.

Along with the appointment, the state will provide some funds to cover investigative costs. As Scott mentioned in his June blog, we need to complete forensic testing that the prosecution ignored, we need to hire experts to review evidence, and we need to hire investigators to speak with key witnesses. These items are vital and necessary to the appeal process. Even with the state’s help, there is approximately $95,000 more needed to cover the expenses of the investigation.

We have been very blessed in that our parents have been able to pay for Scott’s defense and appellate attorneys for the past 6 years. But the reality of today is that they have exhausted their resources.

We want to lift the burden of these investigative costs off their shoulders. This is where we need your help. As the saying goes “Many hands make light work,”. If each of you can make a donation between $5 and $50, we will be well on our way to making up this deficit. With your contribution to the Peterson Family fund, the investigation will be able to move forward uninterrupted, the burden to pay for it will be lifted from our parents, and we will be one step closer to the priceless freedom of our innocent brother.

Without your help, it would take our family years to come up with the funds needed, time we do not have. If you have ever thought about donating in the past and were waiting for a time that your gift would make the biggest impact, then this is that time. Your help today will bring us one step closer to getting Scott granted a new trial and finding justice for Laci and Conner.

Please know that we would not be where we are today without the love and support of each and every one of you, and we thank God everyday for that. Thank you for the sacrifice you are willing to make for our family, we will be sure to keep you updated!

The Peterson Family Children

I am not a supporter of Scott Peterson. I merely signed up for updates from his web site to know when and how the appeal process was going. I got this in my email. Please DO NOT send money.

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you are kidding me! i had no clue that he was appealing!! WOW DOES HE EVEN THINK HE WILL WIN????

(boy i must be out of touch - i didnt even know)

i cant believe hes appealing! im just shocked.

There is NO WAY I would send money to that scum of the earth.

ug he makes me sick

[quoteby adelacruz Today at 4:12 pm
[/quote]

:hang:

AAAHHHHGGG I just puke in my mouth after reading The Peterson Letter
this Man is beyond scum I followed that trail to the bitter end..I did hear that The peterson family And the monster was going to appeal But never in my wildest dreams it could come to another retrail OMG and it looks like he just might get it,,What blows me over are the people out there that will give money To the Bastard.. Its like KC anthony and her jail fund with all of her fans its SICK

adelacruz wrote:

;) Yep

There was no forensic evidence in this case. None. This could be a good example of what KC trial might be like. Juror's lying to get on the jury. jury tampering...Oh man I can see it now. I have some good links on this case if anyone is interested.


:12: Amber Frey
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Today, Frey, 32, has taken back her quiet life, living with her new husband, corrections Officer Robert Hernandez, in a small city in central California.
She cooperated with the police, even taping phone conversations with Peterson. Her testimony at the trial helped send Peterson to death row.

Her motives were questioned when, less than three weeks after Peterson was sentenced, Frey published "Witness: For the Prosecution of Scott Peterson," an autobiographical account of her involvement in the case

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LindaMarie, yes I am very interested in more links. I was pregnant the same time Lacy was with my second son. I could never imagine my hubby ever doing this, even though I told him I was sleeping with 1 eye open.

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Saturday April 11, 2009

Sitting in a 4-by-9-foot cell on San Quentin's Death Row, Scott Peterson doesn't have a lot of choices in life, but he can decide how to decorate his wall. While many cons plaster their cells with pictorial collages, Peterson has only one photo hanging across from his bunk: a smiling shot of him and his wife, Laci.
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lindamarie wrote:[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
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omg lindamarie, this brought back too many memories... :(

Lindamarie,

BARF! Girl, are you pleading DON't SHOOT THE MESSENGER?? LOL! Thanks for sharing.

Sadly, they always get appeals.I had so much respect for Mrs. Rocha, she was such a lady, my heart broke everytime I saw her on TV. Lacy was such a beautiful girl & the excitement & expectation of CONNOR was seen in all her Christmas pictures. It is just unbeleiveable to me to he chose to KILL them instead of divorce. He & KC are so much alike. The thing I remember MOST about his trial is that HE NEVER CRIED except, when his mother talked about him!

Amanda Knox's parent are nearly broke buying a one million dollar defense for her & it isn't over. Her family said they would do it again, they believe in her innocence. Scott Peterson's family sadly CHOSE to FUND his defense, just like scott, no conscience that their money is all gone. It is all about him in his mind.

Why hasn't BOZO SQUEEZED the ANT's for monies for KC's defense??????? In July 2008, the ANT's were again on the verge of their second bankruptsy.

Now that they have their new jobs living off Caylee's Tragedy, I wonder if they will be expected to donate to their daughter's defense? I for the life of me cannot see how this is being funded.

I went and looked at the Peterson website. What denial the Peterson's are in. i hope that right before he gets put to death he tells his parents the truth, that their whole life has been a lie. The Peterson's are loaded. Why do they need to raise funds?. IMO only lonely women will send him any. The same ones that have proposed to him in prison. Art, what breaks my heart is Conner would be going to kindergarden. so sad.

Yes I am pleading don't shoot the messenger. :P I thought you should all know we have not heard the last of this case. I followed this case closely back when it was going on. Laci captured the world attentions with that beautiful smile. Read Sharon Rocha's book. All the proceeds go to a scholarship in Laci's name. About this Author

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SHARON ROCHA is the mother of Laci Peterson. After the murder of her daughter and unborn grandson, she has campaigned for victim's rights, and helped launch Laci and Conner's Law, which makes it a crime to harm a fetus during an attack on a pregnant woman. The law, specifically the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, was signed into law by the President in April 2004. She lives in California.

CritterFan1,

AHHHHHHHHHH shucks! When it is NOTour tradegy Critter, time passes quickly.

It made a lump in my throat when you mentioned he would be going to Kindergarden.

Lindamarie, thanks for reminding us about Laci & Connor's law, I am going to take you up on reading her book. thanks

If this SOB wins his appeal, I will NEVER have faith (what little I have left now) in our justice system again. Like many others, I have followed this case from day one.

I cannot even formulate the words I have for him except to say this is one MF that needs to fry!!

Some funfacts about the PETERSON Family Children.
Lee Peterson had 2 sons from 1st marriage. They lived with their mother and spent limited time with Scott.
Jackie had 3 children and 2 were given up for adoption.
Scott didn't find out about his 2 half siblings until just before he and Lacy were married.

Scott Peterson's 1/2 sister Anne Bird wrote a book titled "Blood Brother"
33 Reasons My Brother Scott Peterson is GUILTY
(you can buy this book online for less than 2bucks, it cost more to ship it.)

The Medical examiner that testified for the prosecution did a great job with what he had to work with. Laci held her Son close for months before her body naturally released him. Laci would have been a wonderful Mother. She was robbed and Connor was robbed. When I see Scott all I can think about is Laci.

lindamarie wrote:The Medical examiner that testified for the prosecution did a great job with what he had to work with. Laci held her Son close for months before her body naturally released him. Laci would have been a wonderful Mother. She was robbed and Connor was robbed. When I see Scott all I can think about is Laci.

Me too, can you believe Connor would be going to kindergarten now. Kindergarten!!! Instead he got expelled from his mother's womb, never had a chance at birth, much less his first steps, his first tooth, mother's morning out.....kindergarten, high school, first kiss.
Thanks to his 'sperm donor' he never had any 'firsts". This my opinion, not the opinion of anyone else!!!!!!

S. Peterson sold her vehicle before they ever found her.

...... says a lot to me!

ladyjustice37 wrote:S. Peterson sold her vehicle before they ever found her.

...... says a lot to me!

Yeah, and he bought himself a truck...not a new family mobile.

The better to trudge throught the outback of Mexico looking for a golf course.

"Fertilizer Salesman" says it all.

looking for a golf course armed with lovely blonde hair, a shovel, a tent, maps, directions to Amber's office....this dude was on a roll. His parents should have been charged with aiding and abetting...remember he had $10,000 cash on him in his fancy new truck?

From Scott Peterson Appeal site. I did not write this ~lindamarie~

One of the most common assumptions people make about the Scott Peterson case was that his inappropriate relationship with Amber Frey was his motive for murdering his wife and unborn son. That was the basic connection the public made – Scott was guilty of infidelity and therefore guilty of murder. He lied to his wife; he is lying to us.

There is no topic related to Scott’s case that we are afraid to cover, but this topic, by far, evokes the most emotion surrounding Scott’s presumed guilt. Scott’s infidelity and the recorded phone calls with Amber made him a hated man.

Do not mistake us as making excuses for Scott’s behavior. We’re not. It was a horrible thing for our family to come to grips with. Here we were in the midst of the crisis of Laci’s disappearance and to learn that Scott had been unfaithful to Laci was a devastating blow. We also learned this had happened before, Scott was weak when it came to women. We were disappointed, shocked, stunned, and disgusted. Utter disbelief.

As much as we wanted an answer for what had happened to Laci, we knew this had nothing to do with it. So the purpose of this article is to set the record straight, and that’s a difficult thing to do. Why is it difficult? Because the truth is, Scott was guilty of infidelity and he told innumerable lies. He did lie to Amber Frey, he did deceive family and police about Amber, and he did spend time on the phone with Amber after Laci went missing.

So let us walk you thru both the prosecutions arguments and the facts in the hopes you will come to the same conclusion we did. When you get to the end of the article, you’ll see that there’s plenty of evidence that Scott had been unfaithful to Laci and no evidence that it was a motive for murder or that Scott is guilty of Laci’s murder.

The prosecution’s argument rested on three claims
1-Scott was very obsessed with Amber Frey.
2-Scott’s obsession with Amber increased after Laci went missing.
3-Scott wanted freedom from his marriage.

So, are these claims true? Let’s look at the record:

CLAIM: Scott was very obsessed with Amber Frey.

FACT: Obsession is defined as, ‘dominating or preoccupying the thoughts, feelings, or desires of a person’. Obsessive behavior would include relentless calls, over-involvement, stalking, intrusiveness, and unreasonable demands upon time or person. None of these or any other obsessive behavior were ever demonstrated by Scott.

November 19th, 2002-December 23rd, 2002 - This first time frame outlines Scott’s contact with Amber prior to December 24th when Laci goes missing and will show the above fact to be true and the prosecution’s claim false.

• November 20, 2002 – Scott met Amber at the Elephant Bar in Fresno. From there, they went to have dinner at a Japanese restaurant. They spent the night together at a Fresno hotel.

During dinner, within two hours of meeting Amber, Scott told her the following lies:
-He will be fishing in Alaska for Thanksgiving with his father, brother and uncle.
-He would be in Kennebunkport, Maine with his parents for Christmas.
-He would be in Paris for New Year’s and in Europe for the month of January on business.

Scott did not clear his schedule to be with her, he was intentionally making himself unavailable in the future.

• November 21-November 24, 202 – Detective Jacobson testified there were 5 phone calls between Scott and Amber over these five days totaling 40 minutes, however Scott and Amber’s cell phone records do not confirm this. The only call that is able to be confirmed by their cell phone records is one 18 minute call from Amber to Scott on the 24th.

• November 25-December 1, 2002 – There is no contact between Amber and Scott. Scott and Laci are in Southern California for the week. Contrary to information published in For Laci , Scott was not “constantly on his cell phone” with Amber.

• December 2, 2002 Scott spent the night at Amber’s.

• December 3, 2002 Scott spent the night at Amber’s.

• December 6, 2002 Shawn Sibley had lunch with some colleagues and heard that Scott was married. Shawn called Scott and asked him whether or not he was married. Scott initially told Shawn that he was not married. About an hour later, Scott called Shawn back and told Shawn the infamous lie that he had been married but that he had lost his wife. Shawn gave Scott until Monday to tell Amber.

Scott didn’t cover his lies very well - he’d seen Amber twice, known her for only 16 days and he’s already revealed to be married. In the one hour between Scott’s calls with Shawn, he made up the lie that he’s lost his wife. This was not a premeditated lie that was part of a murder conspiracy, it was a lie he made up while backed into a corner.

• December 9, 2002 – Scott visited Amber to tell her that he had been married.

• December 11, 2002 – Scott attended a birthday party with Amber.

• December 14, 2002 – Scott attended a Christmas Party with Amber then spent the night at her house. This is the last time Scott sees Amber until she testified at his trial in 2004 .

• December 16-23, 2002 – There were 26 calls between Amber and Scott; two-thirds of which were placed by Amber. It’s mostly voicemail/phone tag. The phone usage billed averaged about 8 minutes a day.
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Scott Peterson appeals death sentence to California Supreme Court
Published July 06, 2012

SAN FRANCISCO – Scott Peterson on Thursday filed the automatic appeal of his 2004 death sentence to the California Supreme Court, maintaining as he always has that he had nothing to do with the murders of his wife Laci and unborn son Connor.

Peterson's attorney, noted death penalty lawyer Cliff Gardner, filed the 423-page document eight years after a San Mateo County jury found the former fertilizer salesman guilty of suffocating a Laci and dumping her in the San Francisco Bay on Christmas Eve 2002. Peterson has been on Death Row since March 17, 2002.

Peterson has always maintained his innocence and his appeal to the Supreme Court is no different. Gardner claims that the overwhelming publicity Peterson's trial received, incorrect evidentiary rulings and other mistakes deprived him of a fair trial. Peterson was convicted in 2004 after a trial that his attorney argues surpassed the O.J. Simpson murder trial in terms of publicity.

Peterson claims that Laci was killed sometime after he left their Modesto home the morning of Dec. 24, 2002 to go fishing in the San Francisco Bay. Gardner notes that Peterson was convicted and sentenced to death, even though investigators never directly proved "how, where or when" the murder occurred.

Prosecutors told the jury that Laci was killed sometime between the night of Dec. 23, 2002 and the morning of Dec. 24, 2002. They believed Laci was suffocated in her home, but Gardner argues that there was little direct evidence collected at the house to support that theory.

Gardner argues that the intense publicity the case generated almost from the moment Laci disappeared deprived Peterson of a fair trial. The trial was ordered moved from Stanislaus County of the Petersons' home, to San Mateo County. Gardner argued that the trial should have been moved yet again because of the crush of publicity in San Mateo County.

"Before hearing even a single witness, nearly half of all prospective jurors admitted they had already decided Mr. Peterson was guilty of capital murder,' Gardner argues. And in what may be a first for the American system of justice, outside the courthouse in which the parties would try to select a fair jury, a radio station posted a large billboard which had a telephone number for people to call in and vote" whether Peterson was a "man or monster." Peterson was pictured in an orange jailhouse jumpsuit.

"The publicity continued throughout trial," Gardner argued. "A mob estimated at more than 1,000 people gathered at the courthouse to await the guilt phase verdict. After the guilty verdict was announced, the 12 jurors departing to await the beginning of the penalty phase -- and decide whether Mr. Peterson would live or die -- were met with wild applause and cheering."

Beyond issues with the publicity, Gardner argues the judge made several erroneous evidentiary decisions and other rulings that led to Peterson receiving an unfair trial. Gardner complains the judge automatically excluded prospective jurors who said they opposed the death penalty. Gardner argued that those jurors should have been questioned more about whether they could still decide the case fairly.

Gardner also argues that some of the prosecution's strongest evidence should never have been shown to the jury. For instance, Gardner alleges that the police dog who picked up Laci's scent at the Berkeley Marina "even though the dog had a dismal record of being wrong a remarkable 66 percent of the time."

The thick legal brief delves into numerous other issues alleging incorrect rulings, juror misconduct and other errors.

All death penalty cases are appealed to the California Supreme Court, which is struggling to keep up with the pace of cases. There are 725 inmates on Death Row and no prisoner has been executed in California since January 2006. Lawsuits in federal and state courts have temporarily halted executions.

The appeal is expected to take months, if not years, to be resolved.

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I wonder when he will be put to death. It seems so long ago that he was convicted of killing Laci.

LM, I would be surprised if he' ever put to death being it's CA. I loathe seeing Peterson's name rear it's ugly head in the media again.

Send Scott and Casey to an island. They're two of a kind!

They really are. Both of them have soulless eyes.

Both easy on the eye (so many say)
Both calm and doing their thing after they murdered
Both pathological liars

Difference: He was found guilty and got the DP but as stated upthread, will probably be on death row until he dies of natural causes or some disease or heart attack or someone takes him out.

She walked like The Murdering, Lying Slut that she is.

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01/28/2015 7:11 PM  01/29/2015 12:04 AM
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Scott Peterson’s yearning to be free from marriage and impending fatherhood prompted him to murder his pregnant wife and their unborn son, and jurors got it right when they sentenced the Modesto man to die more than 10 years ago, state prosecutors said this week in a long-awaited response to Peterson’s death penalty appeal.

“Fueled by the trifecta of selfishness, arrogance and wanderlust, Scott Peterson decided to take matters into his own hands” and killed Laci and Conner Peterson, says the document, signed by California Attorney General Kamala Harris and written by a deputy prosecutor, Donna Provenzano.

“I’m very pleased with her work product and very confident in the outcome,” said Birgit Fladager, who steered a team of prosecutors from Stanislaus County in the Peterson case before winning election as district attorney.

The 519-page document, filed Monday with the California Supreme Court, said Peterson’s parents provided him with “a life of privilege,” handing him a country club membership, jobs, elite schooling and a down payment for the young couple’s Modesto home. “Yet they could not give their son the one thing he secretly wanted most: to be free” of family burdens, Provenzano said in the brief.

Substitute teacher Laci Peterson was eight months pregnant when she went missing on Christmas Eve in 2002. Her husband said he had been fishing in a newly purchased boat in San Francisco Bay and returned to an empty house; the badly decomposed bodies of mother and fetus washed ashore nearly four months later.

Scott Peterson’s 470-page appeal, filed in July 2012, noted that he proclaimed his innocence from the start and blamed massive publicity for swaying jurors in a blockbuster trial spanning most of 2004. He was convicted late that year and arrived on death row in March 2005.

The trial judge, Alfred Delucci, who since has died, was “an experienced and respected jurist” whose “unrelenting dedication” to justice made sure Peterson received a fair trial, Provenzano said. Peterson’s celebrity defense attorney, Mark Geragos, himself approved the selection of “a fair and impartial jury,” she noted.

No juror contacted by The Modesto Bee through the years has second-guessed the verdicts of guilt and the death penalty.

“I can tell you justice was served,” juror Mike Belmessieri told The Bee Wednesday. “We made the right decision. Not a day goes by that I don’t remind myself, and I’m comfortable with it.”

Although it’s been nearly a decade since Peterson entered a cell at San Quentin State Prison, his appeal process has progressed relatively quickly. His family hired an attorney specializing in Supreme Court cases in hope of freeing him soon, a tactic that Laci Peterson’s family has said could backfire if he lands on a fast track to the death chamber.

Fladager, for example, won a death penalty verdict against another man in 1999 – five years before Peterson – and that appeal is in the same stage. Peterson’s camp will make the next move in filing a response; technically, it’s due March 27, but Fladager said delays are routinely requested and granted, especially in high-profile cases.

The Peterson trial moved from Modesto to Redwood City, in the Bay Area’s San Mateo County, to escape ponderous publicity, but his appellate attorneys argue it should have been moved again because prospective jurors were well aware of the high-profile case. Newspapers and cable reporters followed every move, including revelations of Peterson’s affair with Fresno massage therapist Amber Frey, a star prosecution witness.

Provenzano said Delucci effectively “shielded the legal process from the searing gaze of the public and the media,” helping jurors “divine the truth” and “reach just verdicts.”

Jurors needed only to determine who killed Laci Peterson, and prosecutors “presented an abundance of evidence that pointed the finger of guilt squarely at Scott Peterson,” Provenzano said.

At the time, Provenzano was a prosecutor in San Mateo County – sharing office space with Fladager’s team. Fladager’s staff in recent months has cooperated with Provenzano to produce this week’s document.

Fladager was elected district attorney in 2006 and re-elected in 2010 and 2014. Prosecutors continue to take interest in their cases even years later, she said Wednesday.

“If you do a trial and you know the case is coming up on appeal, you pay attention,” she said. “If you try a case and work real hard on it, it matters to you and you track it.”

Peterson jurors “fairly concluded that he, in an unmitigated act of selfishness and arrogance, extinguished two beautiful lives,” Provenzano wrote. “The criminal justice system did not fail Scott Peterson. On the contrary, the process was fair and the verdicts just.”

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