A more than 200-page petition for a writ of habeas corpus has been filed with the Supreme Court of the State of California on Scott Peterson's behalf to have his murder conviction overturned.
Peterson was convicted in 2005 of first-degree murder for the death of his wife, Laci, and second-degree murder for the death of their unborn child.
On a website dedicated to Scott Peterson's appeal, his family said there are 19 claims in the petition that highlight new evidence that shows the court should overturn his conviction.
”It’s been difficult and we’re on the long path to justice,” Janey Peterson, Scott Peterson’s sister-in-law, told 10News from her San Diego home. “The basis of a habius petition is new evidence that was not presented in the courtroom.”
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The petitions claims a juror lied on her application and should never have been in the courtroom in the first place.
“One of the jurors evidently lied on her jury application. She said she’s never been involved in a lawsuit. She’d never testified as a witness. Both those things are not true,” Janey Peterson said.
They also say there is evidence that was never told or shown to jurors, including evidence that numerous neighbors saw Laci Peterson alive walking their dog after Scott had left for the day.
“It is to me clearly evident, not only that Scott is innocent, but in addition to that he did not get a fair trial,” Janey Peterson said.
The petition also states that Scott Peterson had ineffective counsel.
“There were things that Mark Geragos could have done better,” Janey Peterson said.
Laci Peterson disappeared on Christmas Eve in 2002 and her body was recovered on the shoreline of San Francisco Bay in 2003, where Scott Peterson had been boating on the day of her disappearance.
Scott Peterson was arrested in April of that year and convicted of the murders in March 2005. He was sentenced to death by lethal injection.
