peterson penalty verdict will be announced at 4:30 eastern

[lady cop]

Court tv just announced there will be a verdict in the peterson penalty phase , Fox will also carry it. any thoughts on peterson case? it has to be death or life without parole. the judge can take it down to life if it is the jury's decision to pronounce death. there will be presser afterwards also, which could be interesting, because now gag order is lifted.

[livius drusus]

I have no idea how this is going to turn out. I thought he was going to be acquitted on the prosecutors did a crappy job grounds, so I'm afraid my psychic powers are clearly failing here. :shrug:

[Beth]

I did not see all of it, but from the incident with the boat and what not, I thought a mistrial would be declared. Honestly, emotively, I feel he is guilty, but I saw no hard core evidence in which to give a conviction beyond a shadow of a doubt. Did I miss a whole slew of info on this trial or what?

[lady cop]

jury has recommended death. judge can over-ride if so inclined. sentencing Feb. 25. waiting now for any press conferences. Laci's mom crying softly, scott stone-faced, juror 9 crying hard.

[D. Scarlatti]

Execution likely to take place by 2033. Bit of a backlog down there.

[Dingfod]

They could outsource it to Texas, they seem to be a bit more aggressive on the executions thing.

[lady cop]

he's actually in a better position legally now, appeal to CA supreme court is automatic if he is sentenced to death on Feb. 25. the jury only recommends, although this judge has never overturned a jury call. if he receives LWOP his appeals are not automatic, and in fact may not even be heard. it's a "quality of life" issue, san Q death row is a hard existance. but wherever he ends up, if it's not death, he will be in protective custody, essentially solitary. it's funny, on another board i was on there was rabid interest in every detail of this case, and no one here seems to give a rat's corpse...LOL..oh well. :doh:

[Zoot]

I'm sure the School of the Americas is always looking for a bit of contract work.

[viscousmemories]

it's funny, on another board i was on there was rabid interest in every detail of this case, and no one here seems to give a rat's corpse...LOL..oh well. :doh:
I think it's interesting and I've paid attention to the news stories about it since the beginning, but it's true that I'm not fascinated by it. Actually I kinda hate the fact that some random guy strangling his pregnant wife is such a prominent news item in the US. Without really trying to find out anything I know a lot about Scott Peterson, his wife Laci, and their unborn fetus - Connor, was it? I know about his girlfriend, the fishing trip, how and when his wife's body was found, etc.

I also know that hundreds of people showed up at the courthouse to participate in a lottery for courthouse seats every day of his trial, and that a large group of people outside the building cheered and gave each other high-fives when the death penalty recommendation was announced.

What I don't know is why I know all this and why I should care. What importance does this particular case have in my life as a citizen of the world, or even of America? Is there anything profoundly unique about this murder? Something that's going to have a significant impact on our judicial system? Or is this just yet another in a long line of cheesy reality TV shows?

[Godless Dave]

I don't know the crime statistics off the top of my head, but I am absolutely positive that Scott Peterson was not the only man charged with killing his wife that year. I never saw what was so special about this case that it got more attention than the hundreds (thousands?) of similar murder cases that occur every year.

[Petra]

I never saw what was so special about this case that it got more attention than the hundreds (thousands?) of similar murder cases that occur every year.

She was white, pregnant, affluent and pretty?

[livius drusus]

I'm barely interested in a what's that crowd looking at kind of way, but as vm and luna noted, it doesn't seem a particularly significant case in any way that I can think of beyond the telegenic nature of the main players and the perfect movie of the week pathos of the victim(s).

I'm fascinated by cases that have a genuine societal, cultural and/or legal impact. Beyond the fact that there's a media frenzy here - which in this day and age of 24 hour frenzy stations doesn't mean all that much - I don't think this case qualifies on any of those counts. :shrug: