Nancy Grace: Peterson retrial for death penalty will take about two years
Fox Nation host Nancy Grace discusses the details of California DA retrying Scott Peterson's murder case.
Scott Peterson, a California man convicted of murdering his pregnant wife and unborn son in 2002, has been moved from death row ahead of a resentencing hearing scheduled for Dec. 8, according to jail records.
(California Dept. of Corrections)
San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Anne-Christine Massullo on Nov. 23 signed an order to transfer Peterson, 49, from San Quentin Prison to the San Mateo County Jail before his hearing next week.
Scott Peterson listens to the prosecutor during his trial on charges in the murder of his wife, Laci Peterson, on Jan. 4, 2004, in Modesto, California. (Photo by Bart Ah You/Modesto Bee/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Peterson's defense team recently requested a new trial after the Supreme Court overruled his life sentence in August of 2020 amid allegations of juror misconduct.
SCOTT PETERSON'S FORMER DEFENSE COUNSEL TOUTS NEW EVIDENCE: ‘I REALLY BELIEVE IN SCOTT’S INNOCENCE'
Massullo scheduled the Dec. 8 hearing regarding the defendant's resentencing to life in prison and the defense's request for a new trial.
In this March 17, 2005, file photo, Scott Peterson is escorted by two San Mateo County Sheriff deputies to a waiting van in Redwood City, California. At right is Laci Peterson. ((AP Photo/Justin Sullivan, File))
Prosecutors say Peterson murdered his wife, Laci Peterson, and dumped her body in the San Francisco Bay from his fishing boat. Her body and the fetus of her unborn son washed ashore in April 2003. In the trial, prosecutors also pointed to Scott Peterson's affair with massage therapist Amber Frey, who testified she did not know he was married.
Lara Yeretsian, an attorney on Peterson's original defense team with Mark Geragos in 2005, previously told Fox News that it makes sense to schedule a hearing "to happen before any resentencing."
This May 11, 2018, photo shows Scott Peterson. (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation via Associated Press)
"Once the court makes a determination, it also helps us to decide if there’s a need for a resentencing or not. If she decides he deserves a new trial, there’s no point in resentencing. Technically, the conviction is vacated," she said.
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The hearing comes amid new evidence in Peterson's case that his defense team argues will prove his innocence.
"I didn’t think he would be convicted the first time around. I really believe in Scott’s innocence based on the evidence I had seen during the first trial. I truly don’t believe he got a fair trial because of all the publicity and all of the emotions and visceral reactions of him having an affair," she said.
Fox News' Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.
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