California | Judge grants Scott Peterson status hearing after Innocence Project filings

Less than two months after the Los Angeles Innocence Project took up the case of convicted murderer Scott Peterson, a judge in San Mateo County, California, has scheduled a status hearing.

The court confirmed Peterson will be represented by the LA Innocence Project, and it is believed the status hearing will be in response to the group requesting new evidence from the original trial in an attempt to exonerate Peterson.

Peterson will appear remotely for the hearing, according to the court. His LA Innocence Project counsel will be in person before Judge Elizabeth Hill.

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, 51, 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. He was convicted in 2004 and sentenced to death in 2005. He was later sentenced to life in prison without parole.

In their filing, which ABC News reported on in January, attorneys with the LA Innocence Project claimed that Scott Peterson's state and federal constitutional rights were violated, including a "claim of actual innocence that is supported by newly discovered evidence," according to the court filings.

"New evidence now supports Mr. Peterson's longstanding claim of innocence and raises many questions into who abducted and killed Laci and Conner Peterson," the filings state.

His attorneys are seeking dozens of items they say they could not locate after reviewing the trial files from his prior counsel "after a thorough search," according to the filings. The items include evidence from the investigations into a December 2002 burglary of a home across the street from the Petersons' in Modesto in Stanislaus County, Laci Peterson's missing Croton watch, and a van fire in the Airport District on Dec. 25, 2002, according to the filings. They are also seeking documents from interviews with several witnesses.

Paula Mitchell, the director of the LA Innocence Project, previously said she found "deficiencies" while reviewing the discovery of Scott Peterson's case and sent a letter to Stanislaus County District Attorney Jeff Laugero on Nov. 14, 2023, "seeking informal production of numerous specific items of post-conviction discovery," according to a declaration included in the filings.

The letter "includes private identifying information concerning numerous citizens, potential material witnesses, and possible suspects -- as well as sensitive investigative leads relating to Mr. Peterson's claim of innocence-information that was referenced throughout various police reports, tip sheets, and other investigative materials from both the prosecution and the defense that I reviewed," she said in her declaration.

Mitchell also said during her investigation, she had come across "numerous witnesses" who have expressed hesitation or "outright unwillingness" to provide information due to the high-profile nature of the case.

Scott Peterson, who pleaded not guilty, has maintained his innocence and claimed he received an unfair trial based on possible jury misconduct. His lawyers have previously claimed that a woman, known as Juror 7, had not disclosed involvement in other legal proceedings.

In 2020, the California Supreme Court overturned Scott Peterson's death sentence, citing that his jury was improperly screened for bias against the death penalty, according to court documents.

He was resentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in December 2021 and moved off death row in October 2022.

In December 2022, Superior Court Judge Anne-Christine Massullo denied Scott Peterson "relief" in his appeal based on stealth juror accusations.

Scott Peterson's attorney, Pat Harris, previously said in a statement to ABC News that they are "thrilled to have the incredibly skilled attorneys at the LA Innocence Project and their expertise becoming involved in the efforts to prove Scott's innocence."

The LA Innocence Project -- which provides pro bono legal services to people incarcerated in Central and Southern California who may have been wrongfully convicted -- said in a statement in January that it was representing Peterson and "investigating his claim of actual innocence."

Source: abc7ny.com, Alex Stone, March 5, 2024

_____________________________________________________________________

Twitter/X | Facebook | Telegram | Contact Us

SUPPORT DEATH PENALTY NEWS

Buy Me a Coffee!

20 Minutes to Death: Witness to the Last Execution in France

The following document is a firsthand account of the final moments of Hamida Djandoubi, a convicted murderer executed by guillotine at Marseille’s Baumettes Prison on September 10, 1977. The record—dated September 9—was written by Monique Mabelly, a judge appointed by the state to witness the proceedings. Djandoubi’s execution would ultimately be the last carried out in France before capital punishment was abolished in 1981. At the time, President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing—who had publicly voiced his "deep aversion to the death penalty" prior to his election—rejected Djandoubi’s appeal for clemency. Choosing to let "justice take its course," the President allowed the execution to proceed, just as he had in two previous cases during his term: Christian Ranucci , executed on July 28, 1976 and Jérôme Carrein , executed on June 23, 1977. Hamida Djandoubi , a Tunisian national, was sentenced to death for killing his former lover, Elisabeth Bousquet. He was execu...

Israel passes death penalty law for terrorists convicted of deadly attacks

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s parliament on Monday passed a law approving the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of murdering Israelis, a measure that has been harshly condemned by the international community and rights groups as discriminatory and inhumane. The passage of the bill marked the culmination of a years-long drive by the far-right to escalate punishment for Palestinians convicted of nationalistic offenses against Israelis. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came to the Knesset to vote for the bill in person. The law makes the death penalty — by hanging — the default punishment for West Bank Palestinians convicted of nationalistic killings. It also gives Israeli courts the option of imposing the death penalty on Israeli citizens convicted on similar charges — language that legal experts say effectively confines those who can be sentenced to death to Palestinian citizens of Israel and excludes Jewish citizens.

Faith Leaders, Advocates Plan Protests Against Firms Tied to Idaho Execution Chamber Project

BOISE, Idaho — Faith leaders, community advocates and relatives of a person executed by firing squad are joining national advocacy groups to protest firms involved in constructing Idaho’s execution chamber, as states increasingly turn to alternative methods amid lethal injection drug shortages. Due to the refusal of pharmaceutical companies, especially in the past decade, many states have had to find alternative methods because of extensive shortages of lethal injection drugs. Further, this has led the state of Idaho to pass legislation authorizing execution by firing squad, which is one of the most aggressive among alternative methods.

Pentobarbital Sodium Is Used to End Suffering — and Also to Execute People. The Debate Is Getting Louder.

In a prison in Arizona, a tiny vial is kept in a refrigerator. Or there was—the precise state of what’s inside is still up for debate. The contents may have expired, according to a retired judge looking into the state’s execution procedures. They would not expire, according to prison officials. This could not be independently verified by anyone outside the prison. Pentobarbital sodium is the drug in question, and the fact that its storage conditions in a correctional facility are now the focus of legal investigation indicates how far this specific compound has deviated from its intended use.

Sonia Sotomayor Warns That Texas May Execute an Innocent Man

Law is, as legal scholars and commentators have long recognized , both a refuge for those seeking to escape abuses of power and a trap in which their claims of justice get lost in a maze of statutory intricacies. Nowhere has this been more clearly on display than in the world of capital punishment. Over the span of half a century, the Supreme Court has gone from championing the rights of capital defendants and death row inmates to deflecting and denying their pursuit of justice. Where once the court carefully scrutinized procedures used in death cases, insisting that they had to conform to the dictates of so-called super due process , today it has made the due process accorded in those cases not super at all .

Florida Supreme Court halts execution of police officer convicted of raping, murdering girl

STARKE, Fla. (AP) — The execution of a former Florida police officer convicted of raping and murdering an 11-year-old girl was temporarily halted Thursday by the Florida Supreme Court. The court issued a stay in execution for 68-year-old James Aren Duckett, who was scheduled to receive a three-drug injection Tuesday at Florida State Prison near Starke. Duckett was sentenced to death in 1988 after being convicted of first-degree murder and sexual battery.

Saudi Arabia executes man convicted on terrorism-related charges

A man convicted on terrorism-related charges has been executed in Saudi Arabia following a final court ruling, according to an official statement from the Interior Ministry and reporting patterns consistent with international news agencies. The Interior Ministry said the individual, identified as Saoud bin Muhammad bin Ali al-Faraj, was convicted of multiple offenses including alleged affiliation with a foreign-linked terrorist organization, targeting security personnel, supporting and financing terrorist activities, harboring suspects, manufacturing explosives, and illegal possession of weapons.The case was initially investigated by security authorities before being referred to the judiciary.

Once Nevada’s youngest on death row, double murderer paroled as victims’ family claims silence from state

LAS VEGAS — A man who once stood as the youngest person on Nevada’s death row has officially transitioned from a life behind bars to a life under supervision, following his release from High Desert State Prison last month. Edward Michael Domingues, 49, was released on parole on Feb. 13, 2026. His freedom marks the end of 32 consecutive years of incarceration for the 1993 murders of Arjin Chanel Pechpho and her 4-year-old son, Jonathan Smith. Since his release, the case has ignited a renewed debate over Nevada’s victim notification systems. Tawin Eshelman, the mother and grandmother of the victims, confirmed that the family was never formally notified of the parole hearing that led to Domingues' freedom.

Iranian Gay Activist: "They Forced Me to Watch Executions So I Would Know How Mine Would Be"

Iranian LGBT activist now living as a refugee in Spain. He was sentenced to death by the ayatollah regime for being homosexual and for his support campaign for the community. "The enemy was already at home," he says about the current war In 11 countries around the world, homosexuality is punishable by death - it is criminalized in almost 70 countries. One of them is the Islamic Republic of Iran, from where Ramtin Zigorat (Tabriz, 1988) managed to escape after avoiding a death sentence and enduring the worst tortures. He has been living as a refugee in Spain for six and a half years. Question . His life, his testimony, can help us better understand what the Iranian Islamist regime is. I believe that until adolescence, you did not fully understand that you were homosexual.

Arizona | Death Row Inmate Challenges Execution Warrant, Citing 2025 Cyberattack and Protocol Failures

Leroy Dean McGill was sentenced to death for a 2002 gasoline attack in North Phoenix against a couple, Charles Perez and Nova Banta. PHOENIX — Attorneys for Arizona death row inmate Leroy Dean McGill have formally challenged the state’s attempt to secure an execution warrant, citing a catastrophic 2025 cyberattack and a long history of troubled lethal injection protocols. The challenge comes as Arizona seeks to resume capital punishment following a year-long hiatus. If the Arizona Supreme Court grants the state’s request, McGill would become the first person executed in the state since 2024.

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog