Scott Peterson Case Study

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Abstract On December 24th, 2002, Scott Peterson left to go fishing while his 8-month-pregnant wife, Laci Peterson took their dog for a walk. Scott Peterson stated that he drove to his nearby warehouse to send emails and retrieve his boat, which he then brought to the marina. Investigators were later able to verify a receipt Scott supplied from the parking lot at the marina (Peterson investigation slow, methodical, 2003). After fishing, Scott said that he returned his boat to the warehouse, and then went home to an empty house. Assuming Laci had gone to her mother's house, Scott called his mother-in-law looking for her, which prompted Laci's stepfather to call 911 to report that she was missing. Investigators claimed Scott seemed unconcerned …show more content…

(Hess, Orthmann, & Cho, 2017). The prosecution attempted to show that the circumstances surrounding Laci’s death and the disposal of her body could be linked to only her husband (Montaldo, 2017). On November 12, 2004, a jury found Scott Peterson guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Laci Peterson and of second-degree murder in the death of their unborn child. He was sentenced to death by lethal injection the following year, and is currently on death row in San Quentin State …show more content…

Two aggravating factors in the state of California that may have been met for the death penalty imposition in the Scott Peterson trial could be (1) The defendant, in this proceeding, has been convicted of more than one offense of murder in the first or second degree, and/or (2) The defendant intentionally killed the victim by means of lying in wait. Mitigating factors that could be used to convince the jury to convict Scott Peterson of a lesser charge might be (1) the absence of prior felony convictions, (2) the absence of a history of violence by the

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