The Los Angeles Innocence Project has chosen to take up Scott Peterson's case, which involves the murder of the defendant's pregnant wife and their unborn son in 2002.
The non-profit organization is responsible for working to overturn wrongful convictions. It filed documents in court this week to re-examine the case of Peterson, who is currently serving a life sentence inside a California prison.
Scott Peterson Murder Case
The organization issued a statement saying that it "represents Scott Peterson and is investigating his claim of actual innocence." On Friday, the San Mateo County Supreme Court confirmed the organization's filing.
The director of the LA Innocence Project, Paula Mitchell, said in a declaration that was included in the filing that there was newly discovered evidence. She noted that this revealed "deficiencies" in the case's discovery process.
The organization's decision to take up Peterson's case resurfaced attention on the defendant's murder conviction. It has, for years, generated widespread coverage by tabloids and news organizations, books, and at least one made-for-TV movie, as per the New York Times.
Pat Harris, who was one of Peterson's lawyers in the trial, said that they were very excited that attorneys at the LA Innocence Project are lending their considerable expertise. He noted that he would represent his former client in the event of a new one.
The case involving the suspect occurred in 2002 on Christmas Eve, when 27-year-old Laci Peterson, a substitute teacher who was pregnant with the couple's first child, was reported missing from the home that she and her husband shared in Modesto, California.
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In April of the year after, her dead body and the fetus were discovered washed ashore in San Francisco Bay, close to where Peterson told the police that he had gone fishing the day that she went missing.
Prosecutors who handled the case said that the suspect killed his wife and dumped her body in the Pacific Ocean and tried to hide the fact by making it seem as if she was missing. The jury handling the case found him guilty and he was sentenced to death the year after, according to BBC.
New Evidence
In 2020, his sentence was overturned by the California Supreme Court after the judge in the original trial was found to have wrongly dismissed a number of jurors. Peterson was resentenced the year after to life in prison without parole.
On Thursday, legal documents from San Mateo County Court in California called for a new review of evidence and suggested a new trial. It appears to be focused on a burglary at the house immediately across the street from the Petersons' home around the time that the defendant's wife went missing.
Peterson's attorneys are seeking dozens of items that they said could not be located after reviewing the trial files from his prior counsel. These include a van fire in the Airport District on Dec. 25, 2022.
Mitchell's letter "includes private identifying information concerning numerous citizens, potential material witnesses, and possible suspects." She said that these were all related to the defendant's claim of innocence, said ABC News.
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