A judge has denied a new trial for Scott Peterson, who is currently serving a life sentence for the murder of his pregnant wife Laci Peterson.
Laci, who was eight months pregnant, disappeared from her home in Modesto, California on Christmas Eve 2002. Their remains were found months later in April.
Husband Scott was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in the death of his wife and second-degree murder in the death of their unborn son.
He has always maintained his innocence and pleaded not guilty at his 2004 trial, where the jury found him guilty and he was sentenced to death by lethal injection.
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In 2020, his death sentence was overturned and he was given a life sentence without the possibility of parole as well as 15 years for the murder of his unborn son.
Peterson’s legal team have since filed a suit accusing 2004 trial juror Richelle Nice of lying in a pre-trial questionnaire and argued that she was biased against Peterson.
The team requested that Peterson be given a new trial.
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However, in a ruling yesterday (December 20) San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Anne-Christine Massullo wrote: “The Court concludes that Juror No. 7’s responses were not motivated by pre-existing or improper bias against [Peterson], but instead were the result of a combination of good faith misunderstanding of the questions and sloppiness in answering.”
The request for a new trial was turned down.
Defence attorney Pat Harris told Associated Press he was disappointed by the outcome.
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He said: “We believe this sets a bad precedent for future cases where jurors purposefully commit misconduct but nevertheless know it will be excused by simply shrugging it off with ‘I forgot’.
“Jury questionnaires and the attorneys who read them depend on the honesty of the answers in order to get a fair trial. It will make it difficult if jurors believe they can lie and there will be no repercussions.”
Harrison said Peterson’s legal team plans to ‘push forward until he is freed’.
Laci’s mother Sharon Rocha said the ruling proved that Peterson, 50, had received a fair trial.
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In a statement, she said: “We appreciate Juror No. 7 for her courage and honesty during this process. No juror should have to go through what she endured.”
Rocha has previously said that having to go through another trial would be painful, but that she believes it would result in the same verdict.
Speaking to ABC’s 20/20, she said: "To have to go through a trial again, of course, would be excruciating. But if that's what it takes, I'll be there.
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"And I'm sure they'll find him guilty again."
Claire Reid