It was Christmas Eve, 2002 when Laci Peterson disappeared. A slow news day the day before Christmas, and the media, immediately, took note.
By mid-2004, Scott Peterson was the defendant in a double homicide trial viewed around the world.
Did the nature of the storyline drive the media, or was it the media attention that drove the prosecution?
Almost every court in the land tries homicide cases all the time. What was it about the Scott Peterson case that caused it to draw daily national attention and gavel-to-gavel throughout the united states and the world? Was it the fact that the story broke on a holiday? Was it missing white woman syndrome?
Tonight, on the day Peterson was resentenced, Your Legal Rights looks back at the Scott Peterson case, with defense attorney Geoff Carr, TV news media consultant Peter Shaplen, and legal and political analyst Dean Johnson.
Questions for tonight’s panel? Call, toll free, at (866) 798-8255.