Scott Peterson’s Sister Says He’s ‘Exactly Where He Belongs’ After His Death Sentence Is Overturned
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After his death sentence was overturned, Scott Peterson’s sister, Anne Bird, revealed she thinks he’s “exactly where he belongs” serving life in prison. In an interview on the Today show on Tuesday, August 25, she paid tribute to her late sister-in-law, Laci Peterson, and condemned her brother for his crimes.
“I’m against the death penalty, but I do think he’s exactly where he should be,” she said. “I lost my sister-in-law Laci and my unborn nephew Connor, and I believe he should remain in prison for the rest of his life without parole.”
Peterson was convicted of two counts of murder — first-degree murder with special circumstances for Laci’s death and second-degree murder for the couple’s unborn son — in November 2004. At the time, he was given a death sentence. However, the California Supreme Court overturned that sentence on Monday, August 24 due to “a series of clear and significant errors.” Though the conviction was upheld, Peterson was given a life sentence instead.
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Following the ruling, Beverly Hills legal analyst Jeffrey W. Steinberger exclusively told In Touch it was “unlikely” that Peterson would ever be released from jail. “The court could grant Scott Peterson’s pending writ of habeas corpus to have a hearing to determine whether his arrest, detention, hearing was legal in the first place,” he explained. If the writ were granted, he could be released, but those rulings are rare.
Laci, who was 27 at the time of her death, first went missing in December 2002. While Laci’s family became suspicious of their in-law almost immediately, holding a press conference in January 2003 where they demanded he tell investigators everything he knew about the case, Peterson’s family initially stood by him. In February 2003, Peterson’s mom, Jackie Peterson, told The Associated Press family members believed Laci had been kidnapped and was still being held. However, Laci’s body was found in April 2003.
Bird hasn’t shared any doubts about her brother’s conviction, but she admitted on Dateline in 2005 that still struggles to believe what happened. “You know, it was too hard for me to comprehend that someone who is as courteous, as kind as he is, would kill his wife and unborn child,” she said. “It is just something that is so incomprehensible.”
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