The decide presiding over the Scott Peterson case greenlit a discovery course of for the convicted assassin on Monday, twenty years after he was discovered responsible of killing his pregnant spouse.
The latest court docket submitting represents a win for Peterson, who was convicted of murdering Laci Peterson in 2002. He has been assisted by the Los Angeles Innocence Venture since January of this yr.Â
Within the doc, which was obtained by Fox Information on Monday, Choose Elizabeth Hill of the San Mateo County Superior Courtroom authorized Peterson’s request for a post-conviction discovery interval. Hill rejected a variety of his workforce’s requests for particular proof, whereas approving others.
Peterson is being allowed a discovery interval on the idea of California Penal Code 1054.9, which supplies discovery rights to defendants who have been convicted of great or violent felonies and sentenced to fifteen or extra years in jail. Peterson is serving a life sentence with out the potential for parole.
LACI PETERSON’S MOM REVEALS FIRST IMPRESSION OF KILLER SON-IN-LAW
Scott Peterson and Laci Peterson in a nonetheless photograph showing within the forthcoming docuseries, “American Homicide: Laci Peterson.” (Courtesy of Netflix)
The code permits the defendant entry to supplies “in possession of the prosecution and legislation enforcement authorities to which the identical defendant would have been entitled on the time of trial.”
“The Courtroom has thought-about the filed pleadings submitted by all events and the oral arguments of counsel, and now orders post-conviction discovery pursuant to Penal Code 1054.9 as follows,” the decide wrote.
Whether or not Peterson, who’s incarcerated at Mule Creek State Jail, might be granted a retrial depends upon how the invention course of proceeds.Â
In 2004, Peterson was convicted of murdering his spouse Laci and their unborn son in 2002. Laci, who was eight months pregnant, had vanished on Christmas Eve and was reported lacking by Peterson a day later. Peterson claimed that he alerted authorities when he got here again from a solo fishing journey and seen that his dwelling in Modesto, California, was empty.Â
TIMELINE: THE LACI PETERSON CASE
Scott Peterson, convicted of the murders of his pregnant spouse Laci and their unborn son Conor in 2005, seems remotely for an attraction listening to on Tuesday, March 12, 2024. Peterson’s newest try to overturn his conviction has attracted the help of the Los Angeles Innocence Venture. Choose Elizabeth Hill, proper, oversaw the proceedings. (KTVU/Pool)
4 months later, Laci’s physique washed ashore a number of miles away from the place Peterson had gone fishing. Peterson – who bleached his hair after the homicide – was later arrested on the Mexican border carrying his brother’s passport.
Final month, Peterson performed his first on-camera interview in a Peacock three-part sequence known as Face-to-Face with Scott Peterson, the place he stated that he “remorse[ted] not testifying,” throughout his trial.
“I’ve an opportunity to point out folks what the reality is, and in the event that they’re prepared to simply accept it, it could be the most important factor I can accomplish proper now – as a result of I did not kill my household,” he claimed.
The convict additionally theorized that Laci was murdered by burglars who had focused a close-by dwelling on the time of the killing. The burglars later testified that that they had damaged into a close-by dwelling on December 26, 2002, after Laci went lacking.
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Laci Peterson and Sharon Rocha in an undated household photograph showing within the forthcoming docuseries, “American Homicide: Laci Peterson.” (Courtesy of Netflix)
“There was a housebreaking throughout the road from our dwelling,” Peterson stated within the TV sequence. “And I consider that Laci went over there to see what was happening, and that is when she was taken.”
Fox Information Digital’s Christina Coulter and Michael Lundin contributed to this report.
