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OTR Interviews

Reasonable Doubt?

By Fox News
Published | Updated

This is a partial transcript from "On the Record," Oct. 6, 2004, that has been edited for clarity.

Watch "On the Record" every weeknight at 10 p.m. ET!

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP - JUNE 23, 2004)

JUSTIN FALCONER, DISMISSED PETERSON JUROR NO. 5: Everybody says, you know, Geragos is upset because I'm gone. I don't know if that's true or not because even on the defense, I wouldn't want a juror that's getting this much attention. And I have been getting a lot of attention. And so even today, when we walked outside, it was — you know, I was being approached by cameras, and I was with other jurors. And so when you have that kind of a distraction, I don't blame the judge at all for wanting — you know, for wanting to let me go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, HOST: Joining us from Redwood City is the infamous Peterson juror No. 5, Justin Falconer, who was dismissed in June. All right, Justin, I want to know your opinion of the case so far, but I want to point out to the viewers it's a lot different what your opinion is from a juror who's sitting in the box day after day, listening to the evidence. But I'm curious. What's your opinion?

FALCONER: Well, I think that the prosecution did, you know, pretty good closing it out with Grogan. Mark Geragos did score some points, but honestly, I just think there's too many questions. I think that the prosecution's witnesses did a pretty good job of raising questions themselves, and I think that it's really difficult for me to say for sure or to be able to say beyond a reasonable doubt that I could convict him of this, just because of some of the issues that they have had.

VAN SUSTEREN: Are you saying that, you know, you categorically do not believe Scott Peterson killed his wife?

FALCONER: Well, at this point, I have a hard time believing that he did.

I think that there's a lot of evidence, or a lot of testimony that occurred that kind of put a lot of, you know, question into some of the prosecution's ideas: the boat, you know, Conner's age. The doctors weren't sure. They were contradicting each other. And I think that, you know, there's a lot of questions that are left in my mind.

So I think when it comes to reasonable doubt, I think there's a lot there. And I think that as long as Geragos keeps E.T. and Satanists out of his defense, I think that he's going to do a pretty good job of raising that doubt.

VAN SUSTEREN: You know, Justin, the thing that I've always thought was the biggest problem for the defense and the thing that has stuck with me is the December 24 receipt from the marina and the bodies washing up a short distance away. That's not enough for you?

FALCONER: No. You know what? I don't think it mattered where the bodies washed up. I think that it matters that they washed up. And I think if it had been anywhere in that bay, they would have somehow or another figured how to pin it on Scott.

What does bother me is that the prosecution's witnesses said that the dog picked up Laci's scent on the dock that she was never in, or that she was never on, unless you're trying to tell me that he dragged her off the dock. Now, the dog didn't pick up the scent inside the boat that she was supposed to be in.

The second thing, they looked out on the bay for how long with sonar and divers and everything else, and they couldn't find a thing? And then they put up there a chart with a small, little square that says she had to be right here and yet you still can't find anything? It's hard for me to believe that.

We know that she probably wasn't in the boat because the dog never picked up her scent, and we know she wasn't in the bay where they said she was because they never found a thing. So those kinds of doubts, you know, really start to raise questions in your head.

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