District attorney wants Scott Peterson sentenced and off death row, she tells court
Scott Peterson should be sentenced so that Laci Peterson’s family can make victim impact statements and he can be taken off death row, prosecutors said Friday.
“Our position is that the defendant currently sits on death row and he’s not eligible to be on death row and it’s appropriate to set the formal sentencing,” Stanislaus County District Attorney Birgit Fladager said during a hearing for Peterson in San Mateo Superior Court. “The family has indicated that they likely will make statements.”
Peterson’s death sentence in the 2002 murders of his wife Laci and their unborn son Conner was overturned by the California Supreme Court last year.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Dave Harris originally said the office would retry the penalty phase but in late May Fladager filed a notice saying she no longer will pursue the death penalty. She reiterated that statement in court a few days later.
Based on his 2004 murder conviction, Peterson would be sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.
But there remains the matter of his petition for habeas corpus, which is part of Peterson’s appeal and could get him a new trial. One of his attorneys, Pat Harris, said Peterson shouldn’t be sentenced until there is a ruling in that matter.
“He’s been sitting (on death row) for 18 years and another few months is not going to make any difference whether he stays there or not as far as the state is concerned and as far as sentencing is concerned,” Harris said. “It does make a difference, however, in terms of the defense.”
Harris said Peterson’s appellate attorneys have easy access to him at San Quentin State Prison, where death row inmates are housed, and that Peterson needs to be able to participate in his defense. He said if Peterson is moved off death row, he could be moved to any prison in the state.
Judge Anne-Christine Massullo said she would instruct the San Mateo County Probation Department to begin preparing a report for Peterson’s sentencing but set a hearing for Aug. 25 to revisit the issue.
She said by then, based on deadlines established for the habeas, she will have a better idea of whether Peterson will get a new trial.
Massullo also said that while she believes Peterson should not be housed on death row, she has no jurisdiction over where the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation houses inmates. The CDCR could move him at any point, regardless of any decisions in court.
Peterson’s habeas petition alleges juror Richelle Nice lied about being a victim of a crime in order to serve on his jury and “punish him.”
Prosecutors filed a response to the petition in December and Peterson’s appellate attorneys have until June 25 to file a response. Massullo then has 60 days to make a decision based on the filings or order an evidentiary hearing on the matter that likely would include testimony from Nice.
Also during Friday’s hearing, Pat Harris was formally appointed as Peterson’s attorney.
While he’s been serving on the case since it was remanded to superior court and was second chair during the trial, he was never formally appointed and needed that in order to get paid by Stanislaus County.
County counsel objected to the appointment but both the Stanislaus County Public Defender and the Alternate Indigent Defense (AID) firm that contracts with the county filed declarations saying they had conflicts of interest and could not take the case.
Attorney Bruce Perry, the owner of AID, recommended in his declaration that Harris be appointed as Peterson’s attorney, given his knowledge of the case.
Harris said Friday that he discussed the matter with Perry and agreed to a flat rate fee for his pretrial services and a second flat rate fee if there is a new trial. He did not give details on the amount but said it is far less than if he were paid an hourly rate.
The case was transferred from Stanislaus County to San Mateo due to pretrial publicity.
This story was originally published June 18, 2021 at 12:04 PM.
