Two decades after Scott Peterson was sentenced to death for the murder of his pregnant wife in a high-profile trial, the Los Angeles Innocence Project said this week that it had taken up the case.
The development marks a significant breakthrough for the 51-year-old, who has long maintained his innocence and has claimed he received an unfair trial.
In court filings this week, which were first reported by ABC News, the project, which seeks to exonerate those who have been wrongfully convicted, argued that new evidence supports Peterson’s “claim of actual innocence” and “raises many questions into who abducted and killed Laci and Conner Peterson”.
I’m not sure LAIP did the correct risk/reward analysis on taking up this case and the shadow it might bring to other innocent people they wish to exonerate. Unless an alternative killer is found, it’s doubtful any substantial evidence is going to sway public opinion about Scott Peterson.
You know precisely nothing about their reasoning. Public opinion has no bearing. It was formed on the basis of police and media reports that may have led to the conviction of an innocent man. He’s already had the death sentence lifted because the jury was rigged.
It appears that there were failures of disclosure, and quite possibly an incompetent defence team. You don’t need to have an opinion about this until they present their case.