POSTED: 9:01 am PST December 28, 2005
MODESTO -- Having spent his first Christmas on San Quentin's Death Row, convicted killer Scott Peterson has hired the Menendez Brothers' Bay Area legal team to handle the appeal of his death sentence for the murder of his wife and unborn son.Cliff Gardner of Oakland and Lawrence Gibbs of Berkeley have been retained by Peterson's family as they attempt to jumpstart the process of appealing his case. The state automatically provides attorneys to handle a death row inmate's conviction, but that process can take several years.
Among Gardner's clients is Lyle Menendez while Gibbs represents Erik Menendez. The brothers were convicted in another high profile California murder case -- the shotgun slayings of their parents.
Lee Peterson, Scott's father, told the Modesto Bee it was time for the appeal process to begin.
"Since he is innocent, we don't want him to sit there any longer than he has to," the elder Peterson said.
Scott Peterson was convicted in December 2004 of murdering his wife Laci and the couple's unborn baby on Christmas Eve 2003 and then dumping their bodies into the San Francisco Bay -- ironically in an area of the waterway visible from San Quentin's exercise yards.
Mark Geragos -- Peterson's trial attorney -- said he would offer whatever assistance he could and praised the selection of Gardner, who has won three death penalty reversals in the last two years.
But Gardner cautioned at hopes of any quick action. He said it would take more than a year to review all the court documents for errors, check out new leads and write the first of what could be many appeals. more at link:
http://www.ktvu.com/peterson/5690961/detail.html