| LACI & CONNER "She could have had a life - that is what keeps in my brain.. she could have had a life." Sally Slaughter ~ Libertyville, IL ~ Guestbook |
| Peterson accounts focus on early life
Analyst says defense going too far, with one friend comparing killer to Jesus Two former classmates of Scott Peterson took the stand in the penalty phase of his capital trial Thursday and urged a jury not to execute the man they remembered as selfless and kind for the murders of his wife and unborn son. Scott Peterson was "very gracious" to a newcomer at his high school years ago, the man testified today in a bid to show why his friend should be spared the death penalty. "It would be a horrendous tragedy. It would be a terrible loss of a friend, of a brother figure in my life," Aaron Fritz, a high school friend, told the panel that will decide whether Peterson is sentenced to death or life in prison without parole. Fritz said he first met Peterson about 17 years ago when he moved from Indiana to San Diego to begin high school and joined the golf team. "I think he realized I was new to the area and new to the school ... He was very gracious and very welcoming and always invited me to have lunch with his friends and just kind of made me feel welcome," Fritz said. Peterson's high school chum evoked the image of a deity, calling Peterson a role model and saying he would pause and ask himself "What Scott would do?" when faced with a difficult question. “His conscientiousness was very contagious,” Fritz said. “(He was ) kind of like a renaissance kid standing in front of you.” "I think today the defense has gone too far," said trial observer and former San Francisco prosecutor James Hammer. "I think the jury is having a hard time swallowing it. … Comparing him to Jesus, I think, is offensive and could really backfire." Testifying on the third day of the penalty phase of Peterson's murder trial, Fritz at one point paused, looked over at Peterson seated at the defense table and gave a half smile for several seconds. Fritz first testified during trial regarding Scott's statement to Mike Richardson that his hair changed color while swimming in the pool of Fritz. A middle-school classmate, Britton Scheibe, displayed for jurors a page from his eighth-grade yearbook showing Peterson had been voted "friendliest" in his class. His best friend from junior high, sensitive of the victims’ family, acknowledged initially being uncomfortable about testifying, but said he ultimately felt compelled to take the stand. “When it came right down to it, I felt like it was the right thing to do in this situation,” Scheibe said. “Not only for him but his family. "Of all the people I grew up with and knew, he would be the absolutely last person I would ever expect to be accused of something like this," Scheibe said. "I don't believe he deserves to be executed." Scheibe was drafted out of Mira Costa College by the San Diego Padres in the 41st round of MLB amateur draft in 1992. The 6'3", 200 pound outfielder played seven years in the minors, but he never made it to the big leagues. The men were two of four witnesses to testify on the second day of the defense case. Peterson's sister-in-law, Janey, and a family friend, Joan Pernicano, also took the witness stand. As he did Wednesday, prosecutor Dave Harris opted not to cross-examine the witnesses about their glowing accounts of Peterson and his family. In deciding his fate, the jurors are to weigh aggravating factors, such as the nature of the murders and their impact on Laci Peterson's family, against mitigating factors, such as the defendant's good deeds in the past. Fritz told jurors that during high school in San Diego, Peterson volunteered in an orphanage in Tijuana, Mexico. "He was not just courteous, but generous and compassionate certainly beyond his years," Fritz said. "He is the kind of person I would try to emulate." "If I ever had a child, I want them to have a friend like Scott." Fritz sais. "The fact that he worked in an orphanage or taught a kid when he was 15-years- old, doesn't do much to rebut the fact that he murdered his pregnant wife and dumped her in the bay," said former prosecutor Jim Hammer. Scheibe acknowledged that he had not kept in contact with Peterson since middle school, but told jurors he had lasting memories of the devotion his grammar school "best friend" had for his parents. "He was always extremely respectful," Scheibe said. "I've never heard him say a negative thing or talk back." In the jury box, the six women and six men appeared attentive, but unemotional as they listened to the defense witnesses. Some stared at their laps, and few took notes. HOME INDEX LACI CONNER TRIAL VERDICT ALIBI-WITNESS LIST SCOTT |
| AARON FRITZ TESTIFIES FOR A SECOND TIME DURING THE MURDER TRIAL FOR HIS FRIEND and Jr. High Friend Britton Scheibe displays yearbook December 2, 2004 |
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| SCOTT HIGH SCHOOL |
| Story in part from Court TV |
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| AARON FRITZ |
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