SAN DIEGO — Decades after Scott Peterson was convicted of murdering his wife, Laci, and their unborn son Conner, there's now a new move to try to free him.
The Los Angeles Innocence Project is taking on his case, and has already turned to the courts to request evidence they say was withheld by prosecutors.
Scott Peterson, who is now 51 years old, has spent the past twenty years behind bars.
But the LA Innocence Project, which uses forensics and other scientific evidence to exonerate those wrongly convicted, is now hoping to obtain evidence that would be more than two decades old to try to secure his freedom.
More than 22 years ago, on Christmas Eve of 2002, Laci Peterson — eight months pregnant at the time — was reported missing from her home in Modesto.
Her body was discovered four months later in the San Francisco Bay.
Her husband, Scott Peterson, who it was later revealed was having an affair at the time of his wife's disappearance, was eventually convicted of murdering both Laci and their unborn son Conner. He was originally sentenced to death.
It is a conviction that through the years Scott Peterson's family has passionately continued to contest.
"There is no forensic evidence," said his sister-in-law Janey Peterson, speaking in 2021, when Peterson was re-sentenced to life in prison. "There is no timeline to this crime. Scott Peterson is innocent, and we are now trying to reverse that."
Peterson's defense attorney Pat Harris said on Thursday, "We are very excited to have the incredibly talented attorneys from the LA Innocence Project lend their considerable expertise to helping prove Scott's innocence."
The LA Innocence Project, a non-profit dedicated to exonerating those who are wrongly convicted, submitted a motion to the courts earlier this week requesting that prosecutors hand over evidence that it says was available during the trial.
According to KXTV, that includes evidence from a burglary across the street from the Petersons' home in Modesto that took place two days after Laci's disappearance, as well as documents from witness interviews.
Scott Peterson's legal team had requested a re-trial a couple of years ago, claiming jurors were improperly screened for bias over the death penalty. A judge ultimately ruled that that bias did not exist, and denied Peterson a new trial.
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