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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 18, 2003)
STATi THE BAITALIOS kVn in arrest en upheld in court,* r defendants in the la». nclude the city i rd, McLennan Coil Larry Lynch ail lan County Cltiil Randy Plemons. /ford Mayor Rob II had no comment. ; of the plaintiffs wee r way to an anti-wj tration near Busli'j lay 3. They weretfc irough Crawford ail to protest outside tie its, but instead melt blockade of In e n forcemeat officials in city, the lawstii said. Police the crowd seven! minutes to be but some remained their cars wta the time expired Harrington said Tricia Majn of Dallas was one of those arrested along with three servers.” A fifth person Opinion The Battalion Page 5 • Wednesday, June 18, 2003 Is Peterson's fair trial in jeopardy? Media, Lad’s family don’t bias issue Too many factors for impartial trial T f ' 99 ested later when k the public knows about it, Scott can have a fair t the scene to see whit •ening, Harrington said were held overnight ii were not even rington said, said one of the to Crawford was to • 14-year-old daughter ent is an important part :racy and that people it in a peaceful manner their voices heard aid hings won’t happento lis country.” rtunately, my daughter, right beside me whenl cuffed, learned a dil- son from this trip l( Major said, was meeting ii i Prime Ministerfe laintiffs also filed! Crawford Municipal rave the misdemeanor 'ainst them dismissed, it: rvw.texascivilrighf rg/ he ongoing Laci and Conner Peterson saga is a sensational and sad tale that has captivat ed the interest of Americans across the country. The often erratic behavior of the supposedly grieving husband has only furthered interest in the story. The interest of the media and the public will not prevent Scott Peterson from receiving a fair trial, as some have argued. Extensive media coverage is common to high profile cases such as this and vital to keeping the American public informed about the case’s latest developments. On Christmas Eve, the 8-months pregnant Laci Peterson disappeared from the home she shared with her husband, Scott. Since the media picked up this story, America has been bombard ed with every bit of news in the case — from Scott’s multiple affairs to the discovery of Laci’s dismembered body. The story has all the makings of a Hollywood script — the beautiful, defenseless pregnant wife, the seemingly perfect marriage, the affairs and the grotesque disposal of the bodies, which washed up in April, in the San Francisco Bay. No matter how great of a story this is and how much THOMAS CAMPBELL fexas more urces xssil fuels has created ntal conditions that increases in the nun- ;ans, especially chil- i asthma. In 1998. ked seventh in the e number of cases ol thma. air pollution also ic likelihood of heat- ess and deaths, the In three of the last ;, Texas ranked first itry for heat-related report also says that xas had the highest )f mercury, a toxic trial. No amount of media coverage will obscure the facts of the case or convince a jury of Peterson’s innocence. The media interest in the multiple murder case has been barely a blip on the news ticker in com parison to the diarrhea of coverage O.J. Simpson received after the deaths of Ron Goldman and Nicole Simpson in 1994. Simpson proved that no matter how much coverage a case receives, noth ing can stop 12 jurors from voting as they wish. Media coverage has nothing to do with it. Besides, much of the media attention this case has received — media attention some say will bias jurors and the public — has been in response to Peterson’s consistently erratic behavior. Peterson continued having extramarital affairs while Laci was pregnant with Conner. Peterson has admitted to his infidelity. While the affairs are not illegal, they certainly give Peterson a motive for not wanting Laci around. Peterson was clearly interested in other women, and his inabili ty to honor his marriage is definetely information important to the case. Peterson even sold Laci’s carlo buy himself a nice new truck, and contact ed a real estate agent about selling his Modesto, California, home, before his arrest in April. Trying to sell the home he shared with his wife while he is telling the media he thinks she is still alive and hopes for her safe return is contra dictory. It tells people that he knows she is not coming home, and that he is ready to move on with his life. The fact that Peterson took his boat into the San Francisco Bay on Christmas Eve, not even a mile from where Laci and Conner were found in April, is more than just interesting cir cumstantial evidence. When Peterson was arrested, he had changed his hair color, had $10 thousand and his brother’s identification papers on him and was just a few miles from the Mexican border. Peterson’s crazy assertion that some Satanic cult possibly kidnapped Laci is just as unbeliev able and ridiculous as the theory that Nicole Simpson and Goldman were killed by Cuban drug lords. It is a pathetic attempt to put a taboo North Korea and faceless killer on Laci when there is absolutely no evidence that it happened like that. Peterson’s defense is only a distraction. Every second people focus on the possibil ity of some unknown killer is a sec ond they are not associating Peterson with the death. It is nothing more than a last ditch effort to save a sinking ship, and the theory will only hurt Peterson when his trial begins. While being in the spotlight since Laci’s dis appearance, her family has remained quiet. They have not come out and said what their beliefs are, although most can infer through their actions and body language in televised interviews. Having a mistrial because of excessive media coverage would only add insult to injury for the Rocha family — and the last thing they want is for the real killer to go free on a technicality. This case will likely go through much scrutiny before all is said and done. If there are problems with the way his case is handled, the media watchdogs will be right there to scoop the story. The fact that his best excuse for what could have happened was that some unknown cult may have killed her just makes Peterson’s defense laugh able and ridiculous. In any big death story, the media reports on any and all scraps thrown to them by the police, victim’s family, lawyers and anyone else they can get their hands on. This is nothing new, and it does not prevent anyone from receiving a fair trial. Our justice system works well around these minor disturbances. All ridiculous claims aside, the true killer is most likely in jail awaiting his eventual conviction and punishment. Thomas Campbell is a senior agriculturaljournalism major. T he loneliest man in the world right now may very well be Scott Peterson. What was once a search for his missing wife Laci has turned into a homicide investigation with him at the center. All Peterson can freely do now is sit in California’s Stanislaus County jail or an emo tionally draining courtroom, waiting on others to decide his fate. Sadly, in the eyes of much of the American public, the Laci Peterson case is closed — her husband is her killer and the killer of her unborn son. But the actions of some — the media, Laci’s family, prosecuting attorneys and lead investigators, just to name a few — have robbed Peterson of his right to a fair trial. Peterson does not have to prove his innocence; prosecutors must prove his guilt. And until any guilt is proven, the American public should give Peterson the benefit of the doubt. * For the sake of argument, assume Peterson is innocent of the horrendous double murder. He lost his wife. His unborn baby boy, who was to have been named Conner, is also dead. His vehicle and his boat have been confiscated by police, forcing him to sell his wife’s SUV. His house? He hasn’t seen or slept in it since April. Only one side of his family supports him, while Laci’s side of the family has clearly expressed contempt for him and belief of his guilt. Peterson’s only connection to the outside world is through his lawyers. All is not well. Fortunately for Peterson, murder cases in this country are decided through a trial by jury, not based on public sentiment or exaggerated media claims. But when defense attorney Mark Geragos promised to change public opinion about Peterson’s guilt. Court TV proclaimed that that was about as likely as “June snow in Modesto.” In fact, The New York Post, when breaking news of GEORGE DEUTSCH GRAC1E ARENAS • THE BATTALION the Peterson arrest in April, showed a handcuffed Peterson accompanied by the headline, “Monster In Chains.” How can any “Monster” receive a fair trial? The media is treating Peterson like it did O.J. Simpson in 1994: his guilt is all but assured. The fact that there is no hard evidence implicating Peterson doesn’t seem to matter. Only making things worse are members of Laci’s family, who are so blinded by Laci’s death and Scott’s admitted marital infidelity that they want to see him — and apparently, only him — prosecuted for this crime. When asked about his innocence in several televised interviews, they have either scoffed or laughed at the idea, appar ently giddy about his imprisonment. Earlier this month, Laci’s family raided the Peterson home, removing some items and possibly planting others, according to the defense, and much of this looting was documented by TV crews. As another of Peterson’s defense attomies, Matt Dalton, told Court TV, “The scene is tainted at this point.” All grief aside, this is very inappropriate behav ior, and the family owes it to Laci and Conner to let this investigation run its course. Clearly, Laci’s family is desperate for answers, but demonizing Scott and compromising the investigation is not the way to get them. Equally disturbing is the fact that Attorney Gloria Allred, working for the prosecution, has violated a judge’s gag order in the case, choosing to give the media televised interviews about her client, Amber Frey, with whom Scott had an affair. Among other allegations, Allred has brazenly stat ed that “judgment day is going to come for Mr. Peterson,” but she can offer nothing more than hearsay and her own opinion on the case. Defense attorneys cannot respond to the allegations, as last week’s gag order prohibits them from doing so, and Geragos is asking for Allred to be held in con tempt of court for violating the order. With one man’s life hanging in the balance, the defense is the only side playing by the rules. This gag order must either be rescinded or all parties must be held accountable to it. It is also interesting to note that Stanislaus County police have pursued no other suspects as seriously as Peterson, but this is not due to a lack of suspects. Peterson’s defense has been forced into pursuing unnamed suspects on its own with limited resources. Still, the defense’s main theory — that a Satanic cult killed Laci — is actually quite credible. Several impartial witnesses have reported seeing a van adorned with satanic sym bols and a man with “666” tattooed on his arm in front of the Peterson home in late December. The American public seems to dismiss this the ory as ridiculous, but Satanic killings didn’t seem so ridiculous in the 1980s, when Richard Ramirez — The Night Stalker — made California his per sonal hunting ground. Ramirez, who sat in court with a pentagram etched in his palm and often said “Hail Satan,” adds a very real face to the idea of Satanism. Try convincing the families of his vic tims that Satanic cults don’t exist. When Scott Peterson’s trial is over, he may indeed be convicted of murder; he may not be. But the fact remains that Peterson’s fate must be deter mined in court. The American public is not his judge, jury or executioner, and it should not pre tend to be. Scott Peterson must have a fair trial. Laci and Conner deserve nothing less. George Deutsch is a senior journalism major. still poses threat to U.S. America must have clear goals and consistent policy in dealings with nation tion, the group says, to cleaner forms of i as wind, solar and hich is ethanol or .ses produced from has the greatest ■ renewable energy rxtremes of climate exist here in Texas, lenty of wind, yon of sun,” Musil said, vable energy poteo- > is estimated to be mes the state’s pre consumption and n this could create jobs in Texas by 3,400 jobs by 2040. the. group’s report. John Fainter, pres- e Association of npanics of Texas, rile Physicians for onsibility’s report ntial electricity that nerated from bio- ir energy, it doesn’t current uncompeti- hese technologies. W ith the United States’ deep involvement in the Middle East, it can be easy to forget that there are other crises overseas that need to be taken care of. This is why the U.S. government employs foreign policy specialists to handle such problems. But what happens when these special ists become obsessed with solving certain problems while others require attention? What happens is exempli fied by U.S. foreign policy with North Korea. The relationship is crisis driv en, with no consensus between America and its allies. Not only is there no sure way to achieve the desired goals, America doesn’t even know exactly what those goals are. It is time for the United States to devote more attention to North Korea and the threat it poses with a consistent for eign policy. U.S. foreign policy, in regard to North Korea, has been spotty and erratic, leading to confusion and the possibility of unfavor able consequences. The Bush administration only wants to pay atten tion to North Korea when it does something that cannot be ignored. For example, when, according to the BBC, North Korea recently claimed the need for a nuclear program to counter U.S. “hostile policy.” After focusing intensely on the Middle East, the Bush administration was forced to send Secretary of State Colin Powell to make a quick denial of any hostile intentions and restate the United States’ desire for a “diplo matic solution.” But the same BBC article mentions that these remarks were a change from the beligerent tone of former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer. At the same time America is send ing diplomats overseas, the United States is asking its allies in the Far East to put pressure on North Korea — specifically against North Korean shipping by enforcing safety rules DAVID SHOEMAKER a U. S. foreign policy, in regard to North Korea, has been spotty and erratic, leading to confusion and the possibility of unfavorable consequences. and searching for illegal cargo, according to the International Herald Tribune. In keeping with the new American initiative, Japan has detained two North Korean freighters in Japanese ports. This came after North Korea suspended operation of the only ferry between the two coun tries when Japan said that the ferry would-have to undergo an inspection while docked in Japan. While the Japanese have a right to inspection, it does nothing to improve U.S. or Japanese relations with North Korea. This is the inconsistency of U.S. policy regarding North Korea: talking negotiations and then pushing action that will most likely raise the level of tension in the region. This spotty diplomacy could have serious conse quences, as the lack of a firm and consistent policy could lead North Korea to decide to take chances with the United States that they wouldn’t otherwise take. America must develop a consistent policy, one that has well-defined goals and “lines in the sand,” a consensus with our allies and a well thought out application of force or diplomacy. According to an analysis article from the BBC, foreign policy observers believe that the lack of “red lines” that North Korea clearly cannot cross has been an impediment to a resolu tion of the situation. This has embold ened North Korea, causing it to think it can keep pushing, since there is no firm line in the sand for it to cross with dire consequences. But the United States needs to decide with its allies what those rules might be short of the obvious goal of preventing a nuclear exchange. Such “red lines” should be made so that they are easily defined and verifiable to the outside world. With consensus on such issues, the united front against North Korea may perhaps persuade leaders to drop North Korea’s weapons program. The exact means of making the country cease its nuclear program, however, is where the balance of force and diplo macy come in. It might take a serious show of force, or it might require a “buy out” of their nuclear program. However, in the end, what matters is the exact balance that will keep the Korean peninsula from having a full- scale war. And although the Middle East has captured the media and the Bush administration’s attention, the crisis in the Far East cannot be ignored. Too much time has already passed for it to be ignored any longer. David Shoemaker is a junior management major.
