Posted on 06/07/2004 5:30:22 AM PDT by runningbear
Facing killers at trial no reward for parents
EXCERPTS:
Facing killers at trial no reward for parents
BY JOHN COTÉ and GARTH STAPLEY
BEE STAFF WRITERS
Last Updated: June 7, 2004, 05:05:05 AM PDT
Testifying as the man accused of murdering your daughter looks on is something Teresa Vanderheiden doesn't wish on anybody.
"You try to keep your eyes focused on one thing," Vanderheiden said. "I remember looking at the clock a lot, thinking that would avoid it. But your eyes meet."
Anger flashed through Vanderheiden as -- in separate trials -- she came face to face with the men accused of murdering her 25-year-old daughter, Cyndi, in 1998.
"They're looking at you and as you look down and see them, you want to … " Vanderheiden, speaking from her Clements home, trailed off for a moment. "You just want to get rid of them."........
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Testimony Resumes In Scott Peterson's Double-Murder Trial
Laci's Half-Sister Scheduled To Return To Witness Stand
POSTED: 5:14 pm PDT June 6, 2004
UPDATED: 5:22 pm PDT June 6, 2004
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. -- Testimony is set to resume Monday in Scott Peterson's double-murder trial.
Peterson's deceased wife's half-sister is scheduled to return to the witness stand.
Amy Rocha testified last week about the frantic scene at the Petersons' home on the day Laci Peterson was reported missing. ........
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N O T E B O O K / T H E T R I A L S O F . . .
Peterson's Martha Defense
By CHRIS TAYLOR
Monday, Jun. 14, 2004
Martha Stewart was back in the legal spotlight last week — at another high-profile trial that has obsessed the media. As Scott Peterson went on trial for the murder of his pregnant wife Laci, the defense scored a surreal but key point by playing a videotape of the TV homemaker. Peterson had said that on the morning the prosecution says he killed Laci, she was watching Stewart talk about meringue. The Modesto, Calif., police department claimed no meringue was mentioned on Stewart's show that morning. But Peterson attorney Mark Geragos, in his opening statement, played the tape and showed otherwise.
That was just the first of many early embarrassments for the authorities. Geragos has displayed a talent for getting prosecution witnesses to point out inaccuracies in police reports. While prosecutors were trying to show that Laci was too tired to walk the family dog, as Peterson claims she was going to do the last time he saw her, they also inexplicably pointed out that she was able to go to a salon and a spa and buy about $100 worth of groceries that day. "It's a bit confusing what the prosecution is doing at this point," says former San Francisco district attorney Jim Hammer. ..........
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Drive Valet Parking, LLC Announced Today the Company Expects to Hit $500,000.00 in Sales This Year
"LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 7, 2004--
Former Chief Volunteer in the Laci Peterson Case Co-Founded Drive after Being Forced to Resign from His Modesto Hotel for Refusing Rooms to Scott Peterson's Parents
(Excerpt) Read more at modbee.com ...
Pinging......
Pinging......
If, God forbid, I were ever in this unthinkably horrible situation, I would beg the court to be as lenient as possible. I would ask that all charges be dismissed.
Failing that, I would appear at his subsequent parole hearings, asking that he be parolled ASAP. I would want him out of prison and on the streets by any legal means possible.
Because then he would be mine.
Thank you!
interesting....
Yeah, this will be interesting....
Here's a repost of mine from an earlier thread on a related topic:
I'm kind of shy of the death penalty. The problem, as I see it, is that I just don't like the possibility of government to pass laws and lay down the death penalty as a consequence to lawmaking gone wrong.
Now, don't get me wrong. I understand the need for killing a real bad man (or woman). It's just that giving the state the license to do so on the justification of their legal whoredom is troublesome.
As an alternative, I suggest that upon conviction of Murder One, the guilty is refered to the victim's surviving kin for thumbs up or down.
If thumbs up, the guilty spends the rest of his/her life in the Joint - no parole. My idea of prison is 6 days of work in 10 hour days. No TV, movies or phone. Three hots and a cot and adequate medical care but no weight rooms, special diets or heroic medicine. The prison population should sustain itself through industry.
If thumbs down, the family would select a member of it choosing to deliver the injection of the lethal cocktail.
In this way, all manner of justice would be served:
1) Society would be protected.
2) The guilty would pay for their crimes with their lives.
3) The wronged would have justice and, if they wish, revenge.
4) Lethal power would be restricted to the people.
5) Mercy would be an option for those of merciful inclination.
6) Life imprisonment would be assured if the death penalty were not invoked.
7) Life imprisonment might be worse than death for many criminals.
8) Society would be freed from the cost of prisoner support.
9) Revenuse might actually acrue from prison work and go towards aiding victims of crime.
10) The certainty of death or a lifetime of work would, in fact, deter crime.
Can anybody figure out why in the hell the prosecutor didn't have a map of the Modesto area on a board to help the jury and witnesses? Boggles the mind, now I'm getting concerned, perhaps prematurely.
"does anybody here know a good way to read the websleuths boards - they are difficult to follow..."
I read them on occasion. I think they are easier to read than the court tv boards and they have great posters. They usually have shorter threads, too! I just open the LP forum and read the threads with recent posts. The titles are a pretty good way to tell what they are about. Right now there are two good threads on what's new in transcripts.
Thanks RB! Is anyone else aggravated at some of the media coverage on this? They are bashing the prosecution and drooling over MG. We are only 2-3 days into this case! I believe that the prosecution feels that they must present this kind of case in a chronological fashion so that they don't lose the jury. I suppose if we get to the end of the trial we can perhaps criticize their strategy and tactics, but isn't it a bit premature at this point??? Isn't it premature to say that MG is winning because he can show a video of Martha Stewart talking about meringue? This is a murder trial not a speech contest. It's a marathon not a sprint. It's serious business not a laugh-it-up social event. I find it terribly offensive that Geragos is joking in the courtroom (based on reports). I've sat on two juries on far less serious matters and I don't recall any joking or much smiling in the courtroom. Anyone remember the Micheal Peterson case from last summer? Same kind of criticism of the prosectution and drooling over David Rudolf. Well, in the end, he was convicted so I think we need to just be patient. Sorry for the long post - I tend to be a bit verbose!
The state does not invoke the death penalty,the jury made up of men and women citizens do.
I know the media is concerned with the flash aspect but what concerns me is the degree of preparedness that the prosecutor has chosen. As I stated earlier, a map of the Modesto area is a must for these jurors. Forgetting to question Amy about the maternity pants kinda makes you wonder, too.
Jury Foreman, Brian Henry said during final deliberations:
'There are some pieces of the puzzle missing, but there is enough that the puzzle is together, and there is no reasonable doubt.'
Another thing I'm curious about is that the State keeps asking about those Mary Jane shoes...to a few witnesses...I wonder it they found one or both washed up in the bay????
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