Dec. 13 CALIFORNIA----new death sentence Jury in Peterson case decides on death In Redwood City, a jury decided Monday that Scott Peterson should be executed for murdering his pregnant wife, Laci, whose Christmas Eve disappearance two years ago was the opening act in a legal drama that captivated the nation. Cheers went up outside the courtroom as the jury announced its decision after 11 1/2 hours of deliberations over three days. The jury had2 options in deciding the 32-year-old former fertilizer salesman's fate: life in prison without parole or death by injection. Peterson clenched his jaw when the verdict was read but showed no other emotion. Judge Alfred Delucchi will formally sentence Peterson on Feb. 25. The judge will have the option of reducing the sentence to life, but such a move is highly unlikely. If the judge upholds the sentence, Peterson will be sent to death row at San Quentin State Prison outside San Francisco, the infamous lockup where prisoners gaze out small cell windows overlooking the same bay where Laci Peterson's body was discarded. But Peterson still might not be executed for decades, if ever. That is because California's death row has grown to house about 650 condemned men and women since the state brought back capital punishment in 1978. Since then, only 10 executions have been carried out - the last one in 2002. It can take years for even the 1st phase of the appeals process to begin. The jury's decision followed 7 days of tearful testimony in the penalty phase of the trial. Shortly before reaching its decision, the jury had asked the judge to see 13 pieces of evidence, including autopsy photos and aerial pictures of San Francisco Bay. Afterward, three jurors discussed the case with CNN. Asked why they chose the death sentence, a juror identified as "Rochelle" said, "There were so many things, one being that Scott Peterson was Lacis husband, Connors daddy, the one person who should have protected them, and for him to have done that ..." In arguing for death last week, prosecutors called Peterson "the worst kind of monster" and said he was undeserving of sympathy. Defense attorney Mark Geragos begged of jurors: "Just don't kill him. That's all I am asking of you. End this cycle." The death sentence came almost 2 years to the date after the disappearance of Laci Peterson, a 27-year-old substitute teacher who married her college sweetheart and was soon to be the proud mother of a baby boy named Conner. The story set off a tabloid frenzy as suspicion began to swirl around Scott Peterson, who claimed to have been fishing by himself on Christmas Eve and was carrying on an affair with a massage therapist at the time. The remains of Laci and the fetus washed ashore about 4 months later, just a few miles from where Peterson said he was fishing in the San Francisco Bay. The case went to trial in June, and the jury of 6 men and 6 women convicted Peterson Nov. 12 of two counts of murder. All the while, the case never stopped making headlines. The case graced more People magazine covers than any murder investigation in the publication's history. Court TV thrived during the case, providing countless hours of coverage on the investigation and gavel-to-gavel commentary throughout the trial. CNN's Larry King hosted show after show with pundits picking apart legal strategies, testimony and even Scott Peterson's demeanor. Trial regulars showed up by the hundreds to participate in the daily lottery for the coveted 27 public seats inside the courtroom. Prosecutors spent months portraying Peterson as a cheating husband and cold-blooded killer who wooed his lover even as police searched for his missing wife. They said he wanted to murder Laci to escape marriage and fatherhood for the pleasures of the freewheeling bachelor life. The prosecution put on a short, but emotional case in the penalty phase, calling just four witnesses. "Every morning when I get up I cry," Laci's mother, Sharon Rocha, told jurors. "It takes me a long time just to be able to get out of the house ... I miss her. I want to know my grandson. I want Laci to be a mother. I want to hear her called mom." Rocha would later rise halfway out of her seat and scream at Scott Peterson, who was seated impassively at the defense table: "Divorce was always an option," she said. "Not murder!" Defense attorneys argued during the trial's guilt phase that Peterson was framed and that the real killers dumped Laci's body in the water after learning of Peterson's widely publicized alibi. The defense fought hard to save Peterson's life, calling about 40 witnesses over seven days in the penalty phase. They seized on anything from Scott Peterson's past in attempt to spare his life, including testimony that he never cheated or lost his temper on the golf course. They told jurors of the Scott Peterson who was a smiling, snuggling toddler. He was the high school golf captain who tutored younger students. He sang to seniors on Sundays and once broke up a dog fight. He cared for mentally retarded children. He was the highly motivated son who worked his way through college. And finally, he was the young professional who married the woman he fell in love with in college. "I wish there was a phrase that I could give you that could turn this around and make you believe there is good, there is real, real good in this person," defense attorney Pat Harris said during closing arguments. "But I don't have that phrase ... that's up to you to decide." (source: Associated Press) SOUTH CAROLINA: Defense attorneys argue for new trial in death penalty case A federal judge heard arguments Monday on whether a Kentucky man sentenced to death should get a new trial because a juror contacted news organizations before the case was completed. Branden Basham was convicted this fall of kidnapping and carjacking in the death of Alice Donovan on Nov. 14, 2002. But before the jury sentenced him to death, phone records show, forewoman Cynthia Wilson contacted 5 South Carolina news organizations. One employee from WSPA-TV in Spartanburg has testified that she received a call from Wilson, who is from the town of Lyman. However, U.S. District Judge Joe Anderson said Monday he would contact the 2 other television stations and two newspapers to see if any employees at those organizations remember taking a phone call from the juror. "That might be impossible," Anderson said. All but one of the four news organizations contacted by The Associated Press said staffers didn't remember taking a call from a juror. Anderson is trying to decide whether Basham's death sentence should stand or if he should receive a new trial. He also could rule that just the penalty phase should be repeated because the juror contact came after Basham was convicted. "I don't know which way I'm going to go," Anderson said. "This is a really tough call." Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Schools said Wilson wasn't seeking her "15 minutes of fame" but was simply calling to inquire why there wasn't more coverage of the trial. Schools said Wilson's combined conversation with the news organizations lasted 20 to 30 minutes and some conversations lasted just a minute or two, according to phone records. "She was a freelancer out there reaching out to the news media," Schools said. Basham's attorneys said Wilson's actions tainted the trial and could have influenced the jury. "This is a person who came into this courtroom and lied ... repeatedly," Basham's attorney Gregory Harris said. Phone records show Wilson called WYFF, WHNS, The Greenville News and the (Spartanburg) Herald-Journal. WYFF news director Andy Still said the judge had contacted the station Monday but was unsure whether the person who answered the phone would come to Columbia because the conversation was so short, and the caller didn't identify herself as a juror. "We get a lot of those calls every day," Still said. WHNS assignment editor Joe Loy said he could have taken the call but doesn't remember. The Greenville News and the Herald-Journal made similar comments. "As far as we can tell, we know of no contact that we've had with this juror," Herald-Journal managing editor Greg Retsinas said. Anderson said he will set a contempt hearing for Wilson later. Wilson's attorney, Pete Strom, said the married mother of two "had no interest in being part of the story." Wilson wanted young women to realize the dangers of being at shopping centers and malls during the holiday season, Strom said. Basham and Chadrick Fulks, who also has been sentenced to death in the case, abducted Donovan and took her car from a Wal-Mart parking lot in Conway. Her body has never been found, but both men told police she is dead. Basham and Fulks both escaped from the Hopkins County Detention Center in Kentucky. If the juror is found to be in contempt, she could receive a fine, community service or jail time, Strom said. "She just wanted the media to do their job," he said. (source: Associated Press) TENNESSEE: Court sides with Tennessee death row inmate A federal appeals court has sided with a Tennessee death row inmate in a key case. Prosecutors were counting on a win in the case because the complicated issue has been holding up other executions in the state. Abu-Ali Abdur'Rahman, sentenced to death for killing a Nashville drug dealer in 1986, claimed much later he was the victim of a dishonest prosecutor who concealed evidence. He hoped to use his appeals to bring in evidence of that claim. The Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday in Cincinnati that his claims should be heard, even though he has exhausted his appeals. The court said Abdur'Rahman is technically not seeking another appeal, just extending his earlier appeal. (source: Associated Press)
