XPost: alt.satanism.murder, alt.society.liberalism, sac.politics
XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, talk.politics.guns

After investigating the case for more than a year, the Los Angeles
Innocence Project has filed voluminous evidence it says shows Scott
Peterson did not murder his wife and unborn son in 2002.

In a nearly 400-page petition to the California Court of Appeals, filed
Friday night, the LA Innocence Project argued Scott Peterson is innocent
and his conviction should be overturned.

Laci Peterson, who was 27 years old and eight months pregnant, disappeared
on Christmas Eve in 2002. Her body was found in San Francisco Bay in April 2003.

Scott Peterson, now 52, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder
in the death of his wife and second-degree murder in the death of their
unborn son. A jury found him guilty following a six-month trial in 2004.

The Los Angeles Innocence Project claims Scott Peterson was denied his
rights to due process and a fair trial because jurors did not hear
evidence over two decades ago that they argue could have affected the
outcome of the trial, and police and prosecutors did not fairly
investigate the case, and even destroyed possibly critical evidence.

"In my opinion, once the police locked onto Mr. Peterson as the prime
suspect, they had no interest in finding evidence showing that someone
other than Scott may have abducted Laci Peterson because that evidence did
not fit with their working theory of the case," LA Innocence Project
director Paula Mitchell stated in the filing. "In addition to ignoring the eyewitness reports, the police turned a blind eye to other exculpatory
evidence that would have exonerated Mr. Peterson."

She said she believes police press releases included information
"indicating to the public that police did not believe Mr. Peterson's
alibi, almost from day one."

"This created a domino effect and ultimately created a tidal wave of media attention focused on Mr. Peterson as the prime suspect in the case," she continued.

In their filing, the LA Innocence Project claims they have new scientific evidence that shows the date of the death of the Petersons' unborn child
was later than claimed at trial, and that an expert in water movement can
prove that Laci Peterson's body was not dumped where police said it was in December 2004 -- two points they say would undermine the prosecution's
case.

"This new evidence undermines the prosecution's entire circumstantial case against Petitioner, and shows that the jury relied on false evidence,
including false scientific evidence, to convict him," the petition states.
One of the attorneys on the case said that in her entire career, she has
never seen exculpatory evidence this strong.

The filing also makes multiple claims of new evidence and witnesses
involving two crimes they say happened around the same time as Laci
Peterson's disappearance near the Petersons' home -- a burglary at a
neighbor's home and a burned van in Modesto�s Airport District.

Last year, a judge did not let them test for Laci Peterson's DNA on a bloodstained mattress found in the van, so his attorneys do not know if
her DNA is on that mattress. Prosecutors have argued that testing on one
of the mattress cloths found male DNA, so no further testing would be
required. The LA Innocence Project said it has sought "more precise DNA
testing to determine if there is a link to the crimes in this case."

A judge did grant them access to review some discovery in the case from
the trial in 2004, including police interview transcripts and case files.

"Every aspect of the prosecution's theory as to how the crimes in this
case were committed has now been shown to be false," the petition states.

The petition also includes a 126-page declaration from Scott Peterson, who
did not testify during his trial, in which he maintains his innocence and
says he was wrongfully convicted of murder.

"It is important to me that whoever killed my wife and son be found and
held accountable," he stated. "If whoever committed such violence against
Laci and Conner is still at large they are a danger to public safety. It
is also important to me that I clear my name and my family's name because
I did not and could never harm or kill my family."

The filing asks the court to vacate the judgment and sentences, among
other possible forms of relief.

The LA Innocence Project also submitted an application seeking permission
from the court to file the oversized petition, as it is in excess of the allowed 25,500 words.

The Court of Appeal said Monday that a decision on the application may
take several days. If the application is granted, the court said it will
then file the petition and lodge the exhibits. If the application is
denied, it will reject the petition but may allow a shorter one to be
filed.

The Stanislaus County District Attorney's Office, which prosecuted the
case, said it won't comment on the petition until it is filed by the court
and they read it.

Scott Peterson has previously appealed his conviction, claiming he
received an unfair trial based on possible jury misconduct.

A judge denied him a new trial in 2022 following his appeal on stealth
juror accusations.

Prosecutors and police who were involved in the original trial have stood behind the 2004 conviction.

Scott Peterson was initially sentenced to death for the murders. In 2020,
the California Supreme Court overturned his death sentence, citing that
his jury was improperly screened for bias against the death penalty,
according to court documents. He was later resentenced to life in prison without parole.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/scott-peterson-murder-case-la-innocence-project- petition-overturn-conviction/story?id=120949236

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)