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Scott Peterson Gets Death Penalty

Scott Peterson Gets Death Penalty

Crime.About.com

The jury in the Scott Peterson murder trial deliberated for 12 hours over three days before returning an unanimous recommendation that Peterson receive the death penalty for the murder of his pregnant wife, Laci Peterson.

Shortly before announcing they had reached a verdict, the jury requested to review seven exhibits from the trial, including photos of the bodies of Laci and Conner Peterson taken when they were discovered on the shore of San Francisco Bay. They jury was required to weigh both the aggravating and the mitigating circumstances of the case in making their decision.

On November 12, the same 12 jurors found Peterson, 32, guilty of first-degree murder with special circumstances in the death of his pregnant wife, Laci, and second-degree murder in the death of their unborn son Conner.

After a series of delays due to motions and appeals made by Peterson's defense in an effort to have the penalty phase of the trial moved to another location, the penalty phase of the trial began Nov.

30, 2004. The prosecution took only one day to present its case; the defense took seven days and presented testimony from 39 of Peterson's family and friends.

In a 40-minute closing argument, prosecutor Dave Harris told the jurors, "This is somebody who had everything and threw it away. He had a plan and he executed it."

"Two years ago today, the defendant, Scott Peterson, bought a boat," Harris said. "He told Amber Frey his wife was 'lost.'"

Defense attorney Pat Harris later told jurors he was begging them not to take the life of Scott Peterson, because he did not deserve to die. "We've tried in the last week to put on people from all walks of life — all types of people who knew Scott," Harris said. "We tried to show you who we believe Scott Peterson is."


Death Penalty Almost Meaningless?

Even with a recommendation for the death penalty from the jury, the judge in the case does not have to follow that recommendation when he officially sentences Scott Peterson Feb. 25. The judge cannot imposed the death penalty if the jury does not recommend it, but can imposed a life sentence, even if the jury votes for death.

Even if Scott Peterson is sentenced to death, chances are his parents will never live to see him executed. In fact, the chances are greater that Peterson will die of old age before being executed in the State of California.

In California, the death sentence is rarely carried out. Since the death penalty was reinstated by a Supreme Court in 1977, 629 criminals have been sentenced to die, but only 10 of them have actually been executed. Less than two percent of those on death row have actually been executed in the past 27 years.


Justice Delayed in California

In the United States, the average time between sentencing and execution is about 10 years, but in California the average time is closer to 20 years. The last person executed in California, Stephen Wayne Anderson, was on death row for 20 years.

In California, anyone sentenced to death is automatically entitled to an appeal and is provided an attorney specifically for the appeals process. It can take up to five years just to be assigned an attorney and only then can the appeals process begin.

There are so many criminals backed up on California's death row, that the state is planning to build a $220 million annex to expand San Quentin's death row, to the chagrin of state taxpayers.

Posted by Editor at December 13, 2004 09:54 PM