The jury has spoken. Scott Peterson is sentenced to death.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Listening to the fellow jurors while deliberating, it just seemed to be the appropriate justice for the crime, given the nature and how personal it really was.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This was an -- this wasn't an act of flipped out and went and did something. You know, I can understand that and I can, you know, but this was planned.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Scott Peterson was Laci's husband, Conner's daddy. Someone should have -- the one person that should have protected them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Well, the "Talking Points Memo" this evening is about the case. First of all, the reason the media has gone wild over the murder of Laci Peterson and her baby is that she was just a regular American. If she could be murdered by her husband, any woman could be in this country. And that is the fascination.
"Talking Points" has said it all along. There was no other reason for Laci to die other than the evil -- that's what it is -- her husband brought into the house. And that's pretty much what the jury said. There's no other possible reason for Laci Peterson's death
There's no question the jury hated Scott Peterson. And they had good reason. There was nothing, nothing to respect about the man. Nothing. And the fact that he didn't even testify in his own behalf was very telling.
We predicted his guilt months ago. But I was wrong about the death penalty. I felt he would get life in prison.
The three jury members who spoke to the press could not really articulate why they gave Peterson the ultimate punishment over life, but it was clear that they felt he had no excuse whatsoever for his crime, that he was indeed evil, and that he need to be removed from the earth.
Now none of the jury members actually said that, but it was clear, again, that they hated Peterson, especially the redhead. All Americans crave security. When a young pregnant woman washes up headless, when an unborn baby never sees life, most juries will be unforgiving. And that's what happened in this case. And don't let anybody tell you differently. This was emotion-driven.
And that's "The Memo."
The Most Ridiculous Item of the Day
Our pal, Bill Moyers (search), is retiring from PBS at age 70, but he's not going out quietly. He told the Associated Press, "The biggest story of our time is how the right-wing media has become a partisan propaganda arm of the Republican National Committee. We have an ideological press that's interested in the election of Republicans."
Well, that's very interesting and perhaps very ridiculous, as the consensus is about 80 percent of the press favored John Kerry in the election. But Bill Moyers is a committed progressive. He funds his son's progressive Web site Tom Paine. And Moyers is mad as all get-out that President Bush won reelection.
We would love to talk with Bill Moyers on this program. So, if you see him, you tell him that, OK?
I also want to thank all of you for continuing to watch “The Factor”. Our ratings are enormous, and we continue to grow. The message you are sending by viewing us is very powerful. I really appreciate every single one of you watching right now, even the ones who don't like me, and you know who you are.
—You can watch Bill O'Reilly's "Talking Points Memo" and "Most Ridiculous Item" weeknights at 8 and 11 p.m. ET on the FOX News Channel. Send your comments to: oreilly@foxnews.com
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