Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Judge Says Scott Peterson Will Stay at San Quentin as Retrial Explored
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 4 years ago on
November 13, 2020

Share

SACRAMENTO — No one outside of San Quentin State Prison will be seeing Scott Peterson in person any time soon as officials consider if he should be retried in the headline-grabbing slayings of his pregnant wife and unborn child, a judge decided Friday.

San Francisco Superior Court Judge Anne-Christine Massullo had feared Peterson, 48, would not have ready access to his defense attorneys as she considers whether he should get a new trial because of juror misconduct and as prosecutors once again seek to have him sentenced to death.

San Quentin is home to California’s death row. Peterson, wearing a mask to limit spread of the coronavirus, has been appearing remotely by video or telephone link at his court hearings in Modesto and Redwood City since the state Supreme Court ordered lower courts to reconsider the two findings.

But his defense attorneys said they have had enough access to speak with their client at the prison and don’t need him moved to the San Mateo County Jail.

“I’m able to talk with Mr. Peterson there. He has a typewriter, he is able to write letters there. It is, I think, a better situation than what would occur in San Mateo,” defense attorney Pat Harris said during a hearing Friday.

San Quentin had one of the worst institutional outbreaks of the coronavirus. It sickened more than 2,200 inmates this summer and killed 28 inmates and one employee.

Peterson Was Convicted in San Mateo County in 2004

But the corrections department’s online tracker shows just three current active cases, and Harris said he believes Peterson “is safe” from the virus if he remains at the prison, particularly when balancing the risk if he is moved elsewhere.

Harris is representing Peterson on the death penalty question. He has separate attorneys representing him on the issue of whether he should get a new trial. They agreed in a court filing that he should stay put.

“If it’s not broken, there’s nothing to fix,” Harris told the judge.

Massullo is presiding over the case in San Mateo County Superior Court, south of San Francisco, by special appointment after the state Supreme Court recently ordered that his death penalty be reconsidered and ordered the judge to consider if he needs a new trial.

Peterson was convicted in San Mateo County in 2004 after his trial was moved from Stanislaus County because of the massive pre-trial publicity that followed the Christmas Eve 2002 disappearance of 27-year-old Laci Peterson, who was eight months pregnant with their unborn son, Connor.

Investigators say Peterson took the bodies from their Modesto home and dumped them from his fishing boat into San Francisco Bay, where they surfaced months later.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Yastrzemski and Chapman Homers Help Giants Rally Past the Brewers

DON'T MISS

Fresno City Council Finally Passes a Tough Smoke Shop Ordinance

DON'T MISS

Fresno Unified Trustee Wittrup Says District Had Stronger Candidates Than Misty Her

DON'T MISS

Trump Poised to Offer Saudi Arabia Over $100 Billion Arms Package, Sources Say

DON'T MISS

Lights, Camera, Board Vote: Fresno Unified’s Carefully Choreographed Production

DON'T MISS

US Farm Agency Withdraws Proposal Aimed at Lowering Salmonella Risks in Poultry

DON'T MISS

On Major Economic Decisions, Trump Blinks, and Then Blinks Again

DON'T MISS

Candi Is the Dandy to Add a Little Sweetness to Your Life

DON'T MISS

How Trump Tariffs Could Upend California Farms, Wine Businesses, and Ports

DON'T MISS

Tulare Man Sentenced to State Prison for DUI Crash That Injured Two Women

UP NEXT

How Trump Tariffs Could Upend California Farms, Wine Businesses, and Ports

UP NEXT

Survey: Californians Blame Utility Company Spending, Profits for High Electricity Rates

UP NEXT

Chicago Bears Great Steve McMichael Dies at 67 After Battle With ALS

UP NEXT

Long Wait Is Over for Cam Ward, Travis Hunter and Other Draft Prospects Joining the NFL

UP NEXT

Golden State’s Jimmy Butler Injured in Game 2 Loss, His Status for Game 3 Unknown

UP NEXT

Jalen Green Makes Eight 3s to Help Rockets Even Series With Warriors

UP NEXT

Newsom Seeks Help for Struggling Oil Refiners

UP NEXT

US Justice Department Directs Investigations Over Gender-Affirming Care

UP NEXT

US Justice Department Cancels Hundreds of Grants for Police, Crime Victims

UP NEXT

How Do High Schoolers Really Fare After Graduation? A New California Tool Lets You Know

Trump Poised to Offer Saudi Arabia Over $100 Billion Arms Package, Sources Say

6 hours ago

Lights, Camera, Board Vote: Fresno Unified’s Carefully Choreographed Production

7 hours ago

US Farm Agency Withdraws Proposal Aimed at Lowering Salmonella Risks in Poultry

7 hours ago

On Major Economic Decisions, Trump Blinks, and Then Blinks Again

7 hours ago

Candi Is the Dandy to Add a Little Sweetness to Your Life

8 hours ago

How Trump Tariffs Could Upend California Farms, Wine Businesses, and Ports

8 hours ago

Tulare Man Sentenced to State Prison for DUI Crash That Injured Two Women

9 hours ago

Judge Partly Blocks Trump Order Seeking to Overhaul US Elections

10 hours ago

Two From Search Group That Uncovered Mexico’s ‘Ranch of Horror’ Killed

10 hours ago

US Warns States They Could Lose Transportation Funding Over Immigration, DEI Policies

10 hours ago

Yastrzemski and Chapman Homers Help Giants Rally Past the Brewers

SAN FRANCISCO — Mike Yastrzemski and Matt Chapman homered as the San Francisco Giants rallied to beat the Milwaukee Brewers 6-5 on Thursday ...

4 hours ago

4 hours ago

Yastrzemski and Chapman Homers Help Giants Rally Past the Brewers

5 hours ago

Fresno City Council Finally Passes a Tough Smoke Shop Ordinance

6 hours ago

Fresno Unified Trustee Wittrup Says District Had Stronger Candidates Than Misty Her

President Donald Trump delivers remarks during an 'Unleashing American Energy' event at the Department of Energy in Washington, U.S., June 29, 2017. (REUTERS File)
6 hours ago

Trump Poised to Offer Saudi Arabia Over $100 Billion Arms Package, Sources Say

7 hours ago

Lights, Camera, Board Vote: Fresno Unified’s Carefully Choreographed Production

Chickens sit at a poultry farm. March 12, 2025. (REUTERS/Diego Vara/File Photo)
7 hours ago

US Farm Agency Withdraws Proposal Aimed at Lowering Salmonella Risks in Poultry

7 hours ago

On Major Economic Decisions, Trump Blinks, and Then Blinks Again

Candi, GV Wire's Adoptable Cat of the Week
8 hours ago

Candi Is the Dandy to Add a Little Sweetness to Your Life

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend