Peterson Is Portrayed as Caring, Kind

Scott Peterson, who had sat impassively throughout most of his trial, wept as defense witnesses portrayed him Thursday as a kind and thoughtful man, appealing to any sympathy the jury might have for the convicted murderer’s family.

Testifying in the penalty phase of Peterson’s murder trial, his relatives and longtime family friends spoke warmly about Peterson’s “positive impact” on those around him. They described his ongoing correspondence from behind bars with their children and their fears for the well-being of his mother and father.

Jurors who convicted Peterson last month of killing his pregnant wife, Laci, and their unborn son, did not become tearful, as they did when Laci’s mother testified Tuesday for the prosecution. But they did listen attentively Thursday, often leaning forward during the more emotional comments.

The jurors must decide Peterson’s punishment: life in prison or execution.

Joan Pernicano, a longtime family friend, testified that she has been particularly worried about Peterson’s mother, Jackie, who has severe respiratory problems and cannot go anywhere without a portable oxygen tank, carried in a blue satchel slung over her shoulder.

“I’m really concerned about her health,” Pernicano said. “It’s been a slow progression, with the last two years, the stress as a mother.... I try to put myself in her position, and I can’t. It’s so horrible. I’m concerned for her health.”

Janey Peterson, a daughter-in-law of Jackie Peterson and her husband, Lee, described Peterson’s kindnesses toward her and talked about photos of family celebrations.

She was so overwhelmed by memories of better times and a pair of fuzzy slippers Peterson once gave her that she broke down in tears, unable to speak.

In a rare show of emotion, Peterson also cried, using a white handkerchief to wipe away tears.

Earlier in the morning, the jury heard from Aaron Fritz, who met Peterson in high school, where they took Advanced Placement physics and chemistry together. Friends for 17 years, they also played golf and did volunteer charity work in Mexico.

Fritz talked of driving in Peterson’s Jeep Wrangler to deliver clothing and food to poor people in Tijuana and spoke admiringly of his friend for going to senior citizens’ homes to help residents and, on occasion, reading to children with disabilities.

If Peterson is sentenced to die, Fritz said, “that would be a horrendous tragedy, a terrible loss of a friend.”

“Scott has had a positive impact on a lot of people,” Fritz said.

The morning testimony received mixed reactions from court watchers.

Robert Talbot, a University of San Francisco law professor, said of Fritz: “I thought he was a very strong witness for the defense and brought out many qualities that would have been helpful in the guilt phase. During that part of the trial, “all we heard about was Scott Peterson’s obsession with sex and pornography, and his treatment of Amber Frey,” with whom he had an affair.

Jim Hammer, a legal expert, disagreed.

“The point is that at some point in Scott Peterson’s life, everything changed and he became a liar and a cheater and killed his pregnant wife and dumped her body in the bay. So trying to paint him as a Jesus figure is dangerous and risks a backlash,” Hammer said.

Defense lawyer Pat Harris, in his opening remarks Wednesday, urged the jury to show mercy to the former fertilizer salesman from Modesto.

The defense strategy is to call about 20 witnesses -- including relatives, friends, co-workers, employers, teachers and neighbors -- to humanize Peterson, a man prosecutors have vilified as a liar, philanderer and brutal murderer of his 27-year-old wife.

Thursday’s testimony followed that of Peterson’s father and others Wednesday.

Laci Peterson disappeared Dec. 24, 2002, a few weeks after her husband began an affair with Frey, a Fresno massage therapist. About four months later, Laci Peterson’s body washed ashore in San Francisco Bay about a mile from where Peterson said he had gone fishing the day she disappeared.