Scott Peterson moved off death row ahead of resentencing
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Scott Peterson on Monday was transferred from death row at San Quentin Prison to the San Mateo County jail in advance of his resentencing hearing next week.
Judge Anne-Christine Massullo signed an order Nov. 23 to have Peterson transferred as soon as possible after Peterson’s attorney Pat Harris filed papers saying he’d been having trouble communicating with his client at the prison.
Peterson, 49, is being held at the jail without bail for his 2004 convictions for the murders of his wife, Laci, and their unborn son, Conner. His case was moved from Stanislaus County to San Mateo due to pretrial publicity.
At the time, he was sentenced to death, but the California Supreme Court overturned the sentence last year, saying the trial judge erred by excluding potential jurors opposed to the death penalty.
Peterson continues to fight to have his conviction overturned based on allegations that a juror on his case was untruthful when she filled out a juror questionnaire. A hearing on the juror misconduct claim is scheduled in late February; Massullo will have 90 days after the matter is submitted to decide whether Peterson gets a new trial.
First, Peterson must be resentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. A hearing on that matter is set for Dec. 8.
Family and friends of Laci are expected to give victim impact statements at the hearing and face him in person for the first time since he was sentenced to death more than 17 years ago.
—The Sacramento Bee
Man catches girl tossed from window as St. Louis apartment burns
ST. LOUIS — A neighbor caught a 3-year-old girl tossed by her mother from a second-floor window Monday morning as flames spread inside an apartment building in the Wells-Goodfellow neighborhood.
Arnez Merriweather, 30, caught the girl as he stood outside the Hillvale Apartments at about 9:30 a.m. Monday. Merriweather lives at the complex in a building next to the one on fire.
Black smoke billowing from the eight-unit building was so thick that Merriweather and others couldn't get into a hallway to enter the complex.
"We (were) yelling at the windows to tell people to get out, and a woman came to the window and tossed the baby," Merriweather said.
The girl, Tayliah Williams, and her mother, Latisha Williams, were taken away by ambulance for treatment of minor injuries. An older woman also was taken to a hospital for evaluation.
Five people in all were rescued. The other two residents who were rescued declined treatment, officials said. All were rescued before firefighters arrived.
St. Louis fire Capt. Garon Mosby lauded the heroic measures taken by the neighbor. Mosby gathered information at the scene and spoke to many witnesses who confirmed what Merriweather said.
—St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Minnesota family speaks out on eve of ex-officer’s trial
On the eve of jury selection in the manslaughter trial of former Brooklyn Center police officer Kim Potter, the family of Daunte Wright gathered Monday to demand accountability.
"It's just been nerve-wracking," said mother Katie Wright. "Anxiety, hurt, anger, stress... every emotion you can think of, I've been feeling it."
At a press conference in a hotel less than a mile from the Hennepin County courthouse, families who lost loved ones to police violence stood in solidarity with the Wrights, including relatives of Emmett Till, Philando Castile, Hardel Sherrell and George Floyd, whose girlfriend Courteney Ross said this case is "so dear to my heart."
Ross said she remembers Daunte Wright fondly from when she served as dean of students at Edison High School where he was a student who was a joy and always on the basketball court.
Potter fatally shot 20-year-old Wright on April 11, claiming she mistook her gun for a taser. He was killed in the middle of the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin trial, who was found guilty of murdering Floyd.
Potter, a 26-year veteran of the department, is heard on body camera footage immediately after the shooting saying "I'm going to prison."
Potter is charged with second-degree manslaughter — which requires a finding that she acted with "culpable negligence" in Wright's death — as well as first-degree manslaughter, defined as "recklessly" causing Wright's death.
—Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
Architect of the Capitol settles lawsuit alleging racist insults
WASHINGTON — The Architect of the Capitol settled a lawsuit brought by Anthony Green, a Black maintenance mechanic, who alleged he found a noose hanging from equipment he was assigned to inspect and was called racial slurs by white colleagues.
The settlement, filed Monday, was dismissed with prejudice, meaning Green cannot file another lawsuit on the same allegations. Green will receive $85,000 in “compensatory damages” and $50,000 will go to attorneys fees, a total of $135,000 paid out by the agency.
Any and all disciplinary records, which were at issue in the litigation, regarding Green’s work at the agency will be expunged as a result of the settlement.
A spokesperson for the Architect of the Capitol did not respond to a request for comment.
Under the agreement, called a stipulation of settlement, the Architect of the Capitol does not admit any liability.
The settlement marks the culmination of a legal process that began in 2019 when Green filed the lawsuit.
Since he was hired to work in the agency’s Capitol Power Plant jurisdiction in 2015, Green alleged he was discriminated against based on his race, called “lazy” and had racial slurs directed toward him. When Green complained about the conduct of his colleagues, the agency retaliated against him and did not take quick action, the lawsuit said.
—CQ-Roll Call
