CNN legal analyst dumps on 'shocker' decision to re-litigate Scott Peterson conviction
January 19, 2024
After CNN's Kate Bolduan reported on an out-of-the-blue decision by the Los Angeles Innocence Project to represent convicted murderer Scott Peterson in an effort to clear his name in the killing of his wife and unborn son in 2002, CNN legal analyst Jean Casarez took a dim view of spending more money on a case that has been litigated multiple times.
Speaking with the host, attorney Casarez called the move a "shocker" before reminding viewers of the facts of the case.
"When you're a capital defendant everything is paid for, but once the death penalty is overturned he's indigent" she explained. "The Innocence Project, our government dollars from the Department of Justice will pay for this."
"He is claiming actual innocence," she added while shaking her head and continuing, "Now here are some basic facts. It was December of 2002. Laci Peterson, she was eight months pregnant with their unborn child, that's terminology from the California court, Conner. She, on December 24th, Scott Peterson said he left the house about 11:30, she left the house about 9:30, she was going to walk the dog — never any witnesses saw her walk the dog — but he decided to go fishing. Took the fishing boat, he went out, came back to the house, she's gone. She was reported missing. Several months later, that's when her body washed up on shore along with that unborn son, Conner. Obviously, animals are out in the sea, but they washed up separately, close together, but two miles away from where Scott had gone fishing."
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"Now, Amber Frey, star witness for the prosecution. She started dating him in November of 2002," she elaborated. "She asked him, 'Are you married?' he said, 'No, I'm not married, my wife died.' One month later is when Laci went missing. She [Frey] immediately went to the police when she heard this: the tapes were part of the criminal trial.
"Now they're saying there is DNA testing never done on this case and this could show his actual innocence. They are asking for a 15.5-inch length of duct tape that was recovered from Laci Peterson's pants when her remains washed up on shore, a 50-inch twine or tape tied in a bow around the neck of Conner, which is curious because she was eight months pregnant when she went missing. A Target bag from the area where her remains are found duct tape from the Target bag, a black tarp that was discovered along the shoreline, and items from a van that was burned in close proximity and time to when she went missing."
As a personal aside she added about the first trial, "I was at the courthouse. There were hundreds — hundreds — of people that went to California just to stand outside of the courthouse because they cared so much."
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