Geoff Metcalf
Sunday, April 20, 2003

Most, if not all, married couples suffer challenges. Usually it is a function of ‘not enough’… not enough money or not enough sex. However, those challenges are part of life and frankly none of our business. Also, a basic tenet of our flawed legal system remains “innocent until proven guilty.” Okay, so much for the caveats.

The arrest of Scott Peterson for investigation of murdering his pregnant wife, Laci, will no doubt dominate the next news cycle now that things are quieter in Iraq.

Prosecutors announced Scott’s arrest in the wake of confirmation that the bodies of Laci Peterson and her baby had washed ashore in Northern California.

Scott has been charged with capital murder with the special circumstance of double homicide, which could carry the death penalty upon conviction. Prosecutors claim they haven’t decided whether to seek the death penalty. Huh!?!?

Notwithstanding the opening caveats, if or when Peterson is convicted, his fate (or the fate of anyone convicted of such a crime) should be a no-brainer. IF Scott killed or arranged for the killing of his pregnant wife, death by lethal injection is waaaaay too modest a result.

As previously noted, you and I don’t know the intimate details of the Peterson marriage. Either or both Petersons might have been bad people. Laci could have been a shrew or had her own fling as payback for her husband’s admitted infidelity. Unlikely, but possible. And even if true, it doesn’t mean ‘Jack’. I can think of no justification for what has been alleged. Even if some wacko attorney tried to manufacture some courtroom fiction, there is NOTHING to mitigate the murder of an unborn child. This tragedy also should raise some interesting moral questions for those myopic pro-choice sycophants defending the indefensible partial-birth abortion.

California Attorney General Bill Lockyer said: “There is no question in our mind that the unidentified female is Laci Peterson. We are scientifically convinced that the match is one in BILLIONS.”

Children are precious. The Christmas season is a special family time. How any sane person could ever premeditate the murder of his unborn son on Christmas Eve is an abomination.

Reportedly, Laci’s father, Dennis Rocha, told the family, “Well, they finally arrested the son of a bitch.”

The horrendous special circumstance of double homicide reportedly “would make Peterson eligible for the death penalty.” “Eligible”? “ELIGIBLE”?? HellFireAndDamnation – if ANYONE ever deserved to be removed from the gene pool, skinned alive, eviscerated and fed to maggots for a long torturous death, it has to be the “son of a bitch” who would kill his wife and unborn son on Christmas Eve.

Scott had already told police he last saw his pregnant wife as she was preparing to walk their dog. He told police he then left for the Berkeley Marina for a fishing trip. About two miles north of that same Marina the remains of a baby boy were washed ashore. The next day, the body of a woman was found nearby.

Prosecutors traditionally struggle to place a suspect in the vicinity of a crime scene. Getting such an admission from a suspect is often difficult. Not this time.

The medical marvels of DNA biological profiles match both bodies to those of Laci Peterson’s family.

If Scott Peterson isn’t the victim of some elaborate frame-up, he may not only win the prize for being the most callous, reprehensible murderer since Hannibal Lechter, but also qualify for a Darwin Award.

IF (and I’m bending over backward to maintain the illusion of “innocent until proven guilty”) Scott is responsible for the death of his wife and son, why would he remain in the country when he was so close to Mexico (they arrested him in San Diego) and in fact had already visited Mexico subsequent to Laci’s disappearance and prior to his arrest?

Laci’s family spokeswoman said, “I don’t know if relief is the right word. … The waiting has been horrific … but now they have answers.”

Answers no one really wanted. Frankly, it would have been better if Laci had turned up alive with her baby anywhere – alone, with a guy, or even in a cult waiting for the spaceship to arrive … but alive.

The trial will probably take place in Stanislaus County given the impossibility of finding any venue where a jury pool hasn’t been exposed to the nationally reported details.

IF Scott Peterson is found guilty, no penalty is too harsh. Saddam Hussein tortured thousands during his reign. Perhaps the archives of Hussein atrocities include some outrageously evil example that could serve as what should be done with the murderer of Laci and her son … whoever that son of a bitch might be.

Visit Geoff Metcalf's Web site at http://www.geoffmetcalf.com. He may be contacted at geoff@geoffmetcalf.com.