Scott Peterson Moved off California's Death Row 2 Years After Death Sentence Overturned in Killing of Pregnant Wife

Scott Peterson has been removed from death row more than two years after the California Supreme Court overturned his death sentence for killing his pregnant wife, Laci Peterson.

According to San Francisco Gate, Peterson was moved to Mule Creek State Prison east of Sacramento last week. He was previously incarcerated in San Quentin State Prison north of San Francisco.

The California Supreme Court overturned his death sentence in August 2020 after finding that Peterson's jury was improperly screened for bias against the death penalty.

The state's high court found that potential jurors were improperly dismissed for saying they disagreed with the death penalty but would be willing to follow the law and impose it.

In its ruling, the California Supreme Court said a judge would decide the matter in San Mateo County Superior Court. A state judge is currently considering if Peterson deserves a new trial after the justices noted that the jury may have been "tainted by a biased juror."

Peterson was jailed in San Quentin so he would have better access to his lawyers during that monthslong hearing process.

Peterson was convicted of first-degree murder for his wife's death and second-degree murder for the death of their unborn son Conner.

Convicted Murderer Scott Peterson and a New Trial

The California Supreme Court has earlier ordered San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Anne-Christine Massullo to review the case and determine if Scott Peterson deserves a new trial.

According to CBS News, the trial aims to determine whether former juror Richelle Nice was guilty of misconduct.

Peterson's defense team must first prove to Massullo that Nice lied about her past to become a juror on the case and was biased against Peterson from the start.

Nice is accused of "prejudicial misconduct" for not disclosing that she was the victim of domestic violence and had sought a restraining order in 2000 for fears that her boyfriend's ex-girlfriend would be a threat to her unborn baby.

Peterson's lawyers claimed that Nice had kept the details of her personal life that could have been a conflict during his initial trial.

In the previous hearings, Nice maintained that she was not biased and did not lie about her past to become a juror on the case.

She testified earlier that she had never been a victim of domestic violence. She said she was the one who had been the aggressor in a fight with her ex-boyfriend a couple of years ago before she even filled out a jury questionnaire and was picked to become a juror.

Nice further noted that she did not write it on the jury questionnaire because it never crossed her mind, adding that "it wasn't done intentionally."

However, Peterson's lawyers said the 2000 case is relevant to whether Nice was accurate when she filled out the juror questionnaire. They questioned her about stating "no" in the questionnaire whether she had "ever been involved in a lawsuit."

In technicality, Peterson's lawyers noted that the 2000 matter was a lawsuit. But Nice said she did not know her request for a protection order qualified as a lawsuit, and she "made amends" with the woman she accused and dropped her appeal.

Nice also insisted that she was truthful on the jury questionnaire despite answering improperly. However, Peterson's lawyers had also argued that Nice, who later co-authored a book about the case with six other jurors, sought to be a juror because she wanted notoriety and for financial reasons.

Nice also reportedly testified earlier that she held no bias against Scott Peterson until after she heard the evidence that the convicted murderer dumped his wife's body in San Francisco Bay on Christmas Eve 2002.

Scott Peterson in Murdering Laci Peterson

Laci Peterson was eight months pregnant when she disappeared on Christmas Eve in 2002. Scott Peterson had left that day to go fishing at the Berkeley Marina.

Peterson came under suspicion immediately. Detectives noted that he seemed far too calm for a man whose pregnant wife had suddenly disappeared.

A passerby found the bodies of Laci and the fetus of her son Conner washed ashore in the San Francisco Bay near Richmond in April 2003. Their remains were badly decomposed from time in the water. Thus, the cause of death was never determined.

Peterson was arrested in La Jolla, California, on April 18, 2003 - the same day the two decomposed bodies were identified as Laci Peterson and Conner.

He had already dyed his hair blond, filled his car with survival gear, and had $15,000 cash on hand. Investigators discovered that Peterson was having an affair with massage therapist Amber Frey at the time of his wife's disappearance.

Frey told investigators that Scott Peterson told her he was not married, and she admitted they had a romantic relationship. Prosecutors argued that the affair was Peterson's motive to kill his wife, allowing him to be with Frey.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Scott Peterson Finally Moved off California's Death Row - From CBS Sacramento