Scott Peterson, who was convicted by a California jury of killing his pregnant spouse Laci Peterson in 2002, has been denied a brand new trial.
The 50-year-old Peterson and his authorized staff argued that a juror in his 2004 homicide trial dedicated misconduct and he deserved a brand new trial. However, on Tuesday a San Mateo County Superior Court choose dominated she had not.
In a press release to CBS News, Peterson’s legal professional, Pat Harris, mentioned they have been “disappointed” by the ruling, however that “this case is not over,” including that that they had new proof that supposedly proves Peterson didn’t homicide his spouse.
Laci’s disappearance in 2002, and Peterson’s subsequent homicide conviction, gained widespread media consideration. A jury convicted him of first-degree homicide of his 27-year-old spouse, in addition to second-degree homicide of their unborn son that they had deliberate to call Conner. Prosecutors mentioned that Peterson dumped Laci’s physique into San Francisco Bay on Christmas Eve of 2002.
Jurors imposed the demise penalty after convicting Peterson.
Peterson’s attorneys alleged that juror No. 7, Richelle Nice, lied on a pre-trail questionnaire, omitting the truth that she acquired a restraining order in opposition to her then-boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend, as a result of she feared for her the protection of her unborn little one, in response to CBS San Francisco. Peterson’s attorneys argued she was biased in opposition to him.
San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Anne-Christine Massullo allowed Peterson and his attorneys to argue for a brand new trial in courtroom throughout a number of days of testimony in an August listening to. Nice testified she held no in poor health will towards Peterson, till she heard proof as a member of the jury.
“The court concludes that Juror No. 7’s (Nice) responses (on the questionnaire) were not motivated by pre-existing or improper bias against petitioner (Peterson), but instead were the result of a combination of good faith misunderstanding of the questions and sloppiness in answering,” Massullo wrote in Tuesday’s ruling.
Harris mentioned in his assertion that he “respectfully” disagreed with the choose’s choice that Nice didn’t commit misconduct, claiming that it units a nasty precedent for future instances.
“Jury questionnaires and the attorneys who read them depend on the honesty of the answers in order to get a fair trial. It will make it difficult if jurors believe they can lie and there will be no repercussions,” Harris mentioned in his assertion.
Peterson was moved off demise row in October, greater than two years after the California Supreme Court overturned his demise sentence, in response to CBS San Francisco. He was moved to Mule Creek State Prison, east of Sacramento.
