Peterson
Losing in Court of Public Opinion
Hank Plante
Watch the complete story Friday at 5pm on Channel 5.
Scott Peterson's new defense team has barely hit the
courtroom, but they already have a major problem in the
court of public opinion.
A new Channel 5 Poll reveals just how serious Peterson's
image problem is. Of the eligible jurors we contacted,
83% in the Bay Area said they already believe Peterson
is guilty or probably guilty. More importantly, in the
Central Valley, which includes his hometown of Modesto,
eight out of ten people felt same way.
"There is already such an overwhelming presumption of
guilt right now," said Lois Heaney of the National Jury
Project, which provides defense teams with detailed
research on everything from what the public thinks about
their client to the best bet for a change of venue.
Heaney says the opinions about Peterson's guilt remind
her of research she did in the case of Richard Allen
Davis when he was on trial for the murder of Polly Klaas.
But if all those potential jurors have been watching
television coverage for months, what can Peterson's
lawyers do? Legal experts say they've already begun
making some of the right moves, like getting him out of
handcuffs and into a suit, and getting his family out to
proclaim his innocence. Those moves are aimed at the 35%
who believed it was too soon to form a personal opinion
of Peterson himself.
And like the OJ Simpson trial, Peterson's lawyers are
already attacking the evidence and the investigators
themselves. Criminal defense specialist Tony Tamburello
believes alternative theories of how the murder happened
can also convince people to reserve judgement.
"I don't think anybody knows the facts," Tamburello
said. "Maybe he can come up with something."
At this point, defense experts believe a change of venue
is probably a given. But wherever the Peterson trial
ends up, the stakes could literally be life or death.
More than half the people in our survey believe Laci
Peterson's death was a case of premeditated murder, and
that if Scott Peterson is convicted, he should receive
the death penalty.
May 8, 2003