The Los Angeles Innocence Project (LAIP) filed a lengthy petition late last week claiming to have uncovered evidence that Scott Peterson, convicted of killing his wife, Laci Peterson, and their unborn son, Conner, is not guilty.
Attorneys for Peterson are claiming that the case against him was “entirely circumstantial” and that the petition, filed with the California Court of Appeals, shows issues with the police investigation and that prosecutors withheld critical information during his extremely high-profile trials.
In a case that had much of the country riveted, Peterson was convicted of the murders in 2004, some two years after the deaths of his wife and unborn child. He has always maintained that he is not guilty.
He was initially given the death penalty before it changed to life without parole.
“Any injustice needs to be made right and the evidence in this case been and will continue to be our guide as we move forward,” John Sonego, Chair of the Board of Trustees for LAIP, said.
The petition requests that the court vacate Peterson’s sentence, arguing that investigators and prosecutors mismanaged much of the investigation and even destroyed vital evidence.
“We believe the case deserved a second look after his initial conviction because of the issues related to confirmation bias, and there were potential Brady violations committed by the Modesto Police and the county DA’s office,” Sonego added.
The nonprofit says “no direct or physical or forensic evidence was found supporting any part of the prosecution’s theory” that Peterson killed Laci and disposed of her body on the shores of the San Francisco Bay.
A Dec. 24, 2002, burglary at the Peterson’s next door neighbor’s home also takes center stage.
The filing sites a witness who “overheard a conversation among the burglars about Laci seeing and confronting them.” LAIP attorneys said this detail exonerates Peterson because it shows that Laci was alive when her husband left home for a fishing trip earlier in the day.
Attorneys for Peterson also connected the band of burglars to a burned van near the couple’s home, adding that the jury never heard about the burnt out mattress found inside the vehicle that contained bloodstains. They claim prosecutors refused to do more to do more precise DNA testing to determine whether there was a link to the killings.
Police and prosecutors who tried the case 20 years ago have continued to stand by the conviction, while Peterson’s former defense attorney, Mark Geragos, has always disputed the verdict.
“I don’t think they proved it then and I don’t think they proved it any time since then,” he told KTLA’s Rachel Menitoff.
Geragos added that he hopes these latest legal attempts vindicate his former client.
“I think he was convicted because of what I used to call the ‘he didn’t act right evidence,’ and to me, that’s not evidence at all because there’s no playbook for how you should act when your pregnant wife goes missing,” he said.
As for next steps, the district attorney’s office that originally tried the case says it won’t comment on the petition until it is filed by the courts, and they’ve had a chance to read it.
Meanwhile, LAIP said it will wait to see how a judge responds before deciding what needs to happen next.
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