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LA Innocence Project takes convicted wife killer Scott Peterson's case, insists new evidence could exonerate him
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useapen
Jan 19, 2024, 3:38:20 AMJan 19
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The Los Angeles Innocence Project is getting behind convicted murderer
Scott Peterson, arguing in legal papers that new evidence will show he
didn’t kill his pregnant wife more than two decades ago.
Peterson, who is serving a life sentence for the murder of Laci Peterson,
received renewed hope Thursday when the legal organization confirmed to
outlets it had taken up his case.
He was convicted in 2004 of killing his wife and their unborn child after
Laci’s body was found the year prior.
Innocent Project lawyers argued in a recent court filing that “new
evidence now supports Mr. Peterson’s long-standing claim of innocence and
raises many questions into who abducted and killed Laci and Conner
Peterson,” ABC News reported Thursday.
The attorneys are now looking for numerous items they couldn’t find after
combing over his trial files including evidence from investigations into a
December 2002 burglary across the street from where the couple lived, a
missing watch that Laci Peterson wore and a van fire in the area around
the time the mom-to-be went missing as well as docs tied to witness
interviews, the outlet reported.
The Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office replied to the non-
profit’s request for information late last year, claiming the project’s
argument didn’t pass muster, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
The DA’s special prosecutor, Birgit Fladager, alleged the project
intentionally held back information about exoneration efforts.
“The fact that you have chosen to withhold items you claim to possess that
support some of your assertions is troubling,” she reportedly wrote.
Peterson, 51, has always maintained he was innocent of the murders.
His lawyer, Pat Harris told the Los Angeles Times in a statement he was
excited the LA Innocence Project is “lending their considerable expertise
to helping probe that Scott Peterson is innocent.”
One juror told ABC News Thursday he supports the fresh review of the case.
“If they think they’re going to find something different, that sheds light
on something new, I fully support it,” Mike Belmessieri said, adding he
thinks about the case daily.
A California judge denied Peterson’s bid for a new trial in 2022 after he
argued a single juror’s bias tainted the rest of the jury when coming to a
verdict.
The juror, Richelle Nice, deliberately hid her own domestic abuse case
during jury selection, his lawyers argued, but the judge found no
misconduct by her.
Peterson was initially sentenced to death but that punishment was scrapped
and he was instead issued a life sentence.
The Innocence Project provides pro-bono legal help to inmates convicted of
crimes in Central and Southern California.
https://nypost.com/2024/01/19/news/la-innocence-project-takes-scott-
petersons-case/
Scott Peterson, arguing in legal papers that new evidence will show he
didn’t kill his pregnant wife more than two decades ago.
Peterson, who is serving a life sentence for the murder of Laci Peterson,
received renewed hope Thursday when the legal organization confirmed to
outlets it had taken up his case.
He was convicted in 2004 of killing his wife and their unborn child after
Laci’s body was found the year prior.
Innocent Project lawyers argued in a recent court filing that “new
evidence now supports Mr. Peterson’s long-standing claim of innocence and
raises many questions into who abducted and killed Laci and Conner
Peterson,” ABC News reported Thursday.
The attorneys are now looking for numerous items they couldn’t find after
combing over his trial files including evidence from investigations into a
December 2002 burglary across the street from where the couple lived, a
missing watch that Laci Peterson wore and a van fire in the area around
the time the mom-to-be went missing as well as docs tied to witness
interviews, the outlet reported.
The Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office replied to the non-
profit’s request for information late last year, claiming the project’s
argument didn’t pass muster, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
The DA’s special prosecutor, Birgit Fladager, alleged the project
intentionally held back information about exoneration efforts.
“The fact that you have chosen to withhold items you claim to possess that
support some of your assertions is troubling,” she reportedly wrote.
Peterson, 51, has always maintained he was innocent of the murders.
His lawyer, Pat Harris told the Los Angeles Times in a statement he was
excited the LA Innocence Project is “lending their considerable expertise
to helping probe that Scott Peterson is innocent.”
One juror told ABC News Thursday he supports the fresh review of the case.
“If they think they’re going to find something different, that sheds light
on something new, I fully support it,” Mike Belmessieri said, adding he
thinks about the case daily.
A California judge denied Peterson’s bid for a new trial in 2022 after he
argued a single juror’s bias tainted the rest of the jury when coming to a
verdict.
The juror, Richelle Nice, deliberately hid her own domestic abuse case
during jury selection, his lawyers argued, but the judge found no
misconduct by her.
Peterson was initially sentenced to death but that punishment was scrapped
and he was instead issued a life sentence.
The Innocence Project provides pro-bono legal help to inmates convicted of
crimes in Central and Southern California.
https://nypost.com/2024/01/19/news/la-innocence-project-takes-scott-
petersons-case/
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