SkinsNut73
March-16th-2005, 01:06 PM
Caught me off guard....I didn't think the judge would side with the jury's recommendation....
http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/03/16/peterson.case/index.html
Woman's family explodes; Peterson told 'you're going to burn in hell'
Wednesday, March 16, 2005 Posted: 1:48 PM EST (1848 GMT)
REDWOOD CITY, California (CNN) -- Calling the deaths of a pregnant wife and her fetus "cruel, uncaring, heartless and callous," a California judge Wednesday sentenced Scott Peterson to die by lethal injection for the crime.
San Mateo Superior Court Judge Alfred Delucchi noted that the couple's unborn child never had a chance to draw a breath. He made the remarks as he denied an automatic motion to mitigate Peterson's sentence.
Delucchi also denied a motion filed by defense attorney Mark Geragos seeking a new trial for Peterson.
Members of Laci Peterson's family addressed the court before Delucchi formally imposed the sentence.
"You're evil and still have the readiness to commit evil," brother Brent Rocha told Peterson. "How does it feel to be a baby killer?"
Rocha said that every time he comes to court, "I think that my sister's head is probably rolling around in the bottom of the bay."
He called Peterson "arrogant" and said it was time for him to face reality for his actions.
Other family members, such as Laci's father and stepfather, used profanity in addressing Peterson, resulting in an admonishment from Delucchi.
In addition, after an outburst from Peterson's father, Lee, Delucchi threatened to have him removed from the courtroom. Lee Peterson had shouted at Brent Rocha that he was a liar.
"I never liked you," Dennis Rocha, Laci's stepfather, told Peterson. "You're going to burn in hell."
Laci's mother, Sharon Rocha, told Peterson he was "stupid, stupid to think you could get away with murder" and told him he had "no love, no feelings, no heart, no soul."
"You're selfish, heartless and self-centered," she said. "You're a coward and an evil murderer ... You're a coward and an evil murderer."
In imposing the death sentence, Delucchi followed the recommendation of a jury last December. (Jury recommendation)
Delucchi had the option of reducing his sentence to life in prison.
Earlier Wednesday, the 32-year-old Peterson was brought into a California courtroom shackled at the waist, according to The Associated Press.
The former fertilizer salesman was escorted into San Mateo County Superior Court under heavy security, wearing a dark suit and handcuffs chained to his waist, the AP reported. Additionally, 10 of the 12 jurors who sentenced him to death in December sat in the jury box Wednesday, the AP reported.
Laci Peterson was eight months pregnant when she was reported missing on Christmas Eve 2002. Scott Peterson told police he had launched his boat at Berkeley Marina, about 80 miles from where the couple lives in Modesto, to fish in the bay that day.
Her body, and that of the fetus she carried, washed up separately on the shore in April, near where Peterson said he was fishing. A definitive cause of death was never determined.
Prosecutors said Peterson killed his wife in the couple's home on December 23 or 24, 2002, with an absence of blood in the house pointing to strangulation or smothering. They said Peterson -- who police learned was having an extramarital affair with massage therapist Amber Frey -- wanted to continue to live life as a freewheeling bachelor.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/03/16/peterson.case/index.html
Woman's family explodes; Peterson told 'you're going to burn in hell'
Wednesday, March 16, 2005 Posted: 1:48 PM EST (1848 GMT)
REDWOOD CITY, California (CNN) -- Calling the deaths of a pregnant wife and her fetus "cruel, uncaring, heartless and callous," a California judge Wednesday sentenced Scott Peterson to die by lethal injection for the crime.
San Mateo Superior Court Judge Alfred Delucchi noted that the couple's unborn child never had a chance to draw a breath. He made the remarks as he denied an automatic motion to mitigate Peterson's sentence.
Delucchi also denied a motion filed by defense attorney Mark Geragos seeking a new trial for Peterson.
Members of Laci Peterson's family addressed the court before Delucchi formally imposed the sentence.
"You're evil and still have the readiness to commit evil," brother Brent Rocha told Peterson. "How does it feel to be a baby killer?"
Rocha said that every time he comes to court, "I think that my sister's head is probably rolling around in the bottom of the bay."
He called Peterson "arrogant" and said it was time for him to face reality for his actions.
Other family members, such as Laci's father and stepfather, used profanity in addressing Peterson, resulting in an admonishment from Delucchi.
In addition, after an outburst from Peterson's father, Lee, Delucchi threatened to have him removed from the courtroom. Lee Peterson had shouted at Brent Rocha that he was a liar.
"I never liked you," Dennis Rocha, Laci's stepfather, told Peterson. "You're going to burn in hell."
Laci's mother, Sharon Rocha, told Peterson he was "stupid, stupid to think you could get away with murder" and told him he had "no love, no feelings, no heart, no soul."
"You're selfish, heartless and self-centered," she said. "You're a coward and an evil murderer ... You're a coward and an evil murderer."
In imposing the death sentence, Delucchi followed the recommendation of a jury last December. (Jury recommendation)
Delucchi had the option of reducing his sentence to life in prison.
Earlier Wednesday, the 32-year-old Peterson was brought into a California courtroom shackled at the waist, according to The Associated Press.
The former fertilizer salesman was escorted into San Mateo County Superior Court under heavy security, wearing a dark suit and handcuffs chained to his waist, the AP reported. Additionally, 10 of the 12 jurors who sentenced him to death in December sat in the jury box Wednesday, the AP reported.
Laci Peterson was eight months pregnant when she was reported missing on Christmas Eve 2002. Scott Peterson told police he had launched his boat at Berkeley Marina, about 80 miles from where the couple lives in Modesto, to fish in the bay that day.
Her body, and that of the fetus she carried, washed up separately on the shore in April, near where Peterson said he was fishing. A definitive cause of death was never determined.
Prosecutors said Peterson killed his wife in the couple's home on December 23 or 24, 2002, with an absence of blood in the house pointing to strangulation or smothering. They said Peterson -- who police learned was having an extramarital affair with massage therapist Amber Frey -- wanted to continue to live life as a freewheeling bachelor.