In a filing Friday, the Stanislaus County district attorney’s office said it would drop efforts to restore the penalty thrown out last year by the state Supreme Court. The DA said the decision was made in consultation with Laci Peterson’s family.
The California justices ruled the death sentence couldn’t stand because potential jurors were excluded after saying they disagreed with the death penalty.
The family has “no doubt” Peterson killed his wife and unborn son Conner and deserves the death penalty but doesn’t want to pursue that punishment because “this process is simply too painful to endure once again,” said the filing in San Mateo Superior Court.
Peterson was convicted in the San Mateo court after his trial was moved from Stanislaus County due to the massive pre-trial publicity that followed the Christmas Eve 2002 disappearance of 27-year-old Laci, who was eight months pregnant.
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.
Peterson maintains his innocence and a judge is considering whether to grant a new trial because of juror misconduct. If no new trial is granted, he will be sentenced to life imprisonment.
Peterson’s lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the district attorney’s decision.
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