BEYOND CONTEMPT
Geoff Metcalf
April 20, 2003
NewsWithViews.comWhat happens in marriages is private. It is presumptuous for any of us non-professionals (and often likewise for degreed referees) to counsel any couple on what goes on in their marriage. 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 and could carry the death penalty upon conviction. They 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 to 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 husbands 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 Marine for a fishing trip. About two miles north of that same Marina the remains of a baby boy were wash 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 win the prizes for not only being the most callus, reprehensible murder since Hannibal Lechter, but also qualify for a Darwin Award.
IF (and I’m bending over backwards 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 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 murder of Laci and her son…whoever that son of a bitch might be.
© 2003 Geoff Metcalf - All Rights Reserved
Geoff is a veteran media performer. He has had an eclectic professional background covering a wide spectrum of radio, television, magazine, and newspapers. A former Green Beret and retired Army officer he is in great demand as a speaker. Metcalf has hosted his radio talk show on the ABC/Disney owned and operated KSFO and in worldwide syndication. www.geoffmetcalf.com