Scott Peterson Trial Transcripts Certified, Lengthy Appeals Will Begin 
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
July 16, 2006
Redwood City, CA (LifeNews.com) — The transcript of the proceedings in the Scott Peterson double murder trial has been certified as accurate. That action finalizes the court battle that resulted in his double murder conviction in the deaths of Laci and Conner Peterson and paves the way for the first round of appeals that are expected to take years to complete.
A hearing on Friday to certify the documents was the last action in the case. Now those involved are preparing themselves for the next stage, knowing the conviction was not the end.
"For us, I don’t know that it’s ever going to feel done," former prosecutor Birgit Fladager told the San Francisco Chronicle.
Laci Peterson’s mother, Sharon Rocha, attended Friday’s hearing with longtime companion Ron Grantski. However, neither Scott Peterson nor his lead defense attorney Mark Geragos were present.
"We thought we’d just come along and see what happens," Rocha told The Chronicle. "When we were coming off the freeway, I was feeling a little emotional, but I’m fine now."
Scott Peterson was accused of murdering Laci Peterson on Christmas Eve 2002 and dumping her body in San Francisco Bay, which also resulted in the death of eight-month old unborn baby Conner.
Peterson sits on death row after having been convicted of the double murder. His legal team is working on appeal of the conviction and sentence, but Scott’s family is hoping to up the ante to free him.
They are offering the money for "specific information" leading to his exoneration and have put together a web site, www.scottpetersonappeal.org, which claims Scott is innocent of Laci’s Christmas Eve disappearance and the deaths of her and her baby.
The Peterson case sparked a renewed debate about violence against pregnant women and prompted the passage of a Congressional measure allowing federal prosecutors to punish criminals when they attack a pregnant woman and kill or injure the unborn child.
Some 34 states currently have laws that recognize the unborn child as second victim in such attacks and 24 of them protect mother and child throughout pregnancy.
Peterson was convicted under California’s unborn victims law that recognizes a second victim starting at seven to eight weeks into pregnancy.
