Peterson’s Love of Golf Is Stressed

Scott Peterson’s fondness for golf remains a running theme in the penalty phase of his murder trial, as friends and relatives continue to cite his love for the game while urging the jury to spare the convicted murderer the death penalty.

Robert Thompson Jr., who teaches accounting and agricultural business at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, said Peterson was an A student, made the dean’s list three times and, “when we played golf, he’d bring along cigars.”

Peterson, Thompson said, was a “fine young man” and an exceptional golfer. “He didn’t make me feel self-conscious,” he said. “I learned from him just to enjoy the game.”

Many of the 30 witnesses who have testified in the penalty phase have talked about golf, and Peterson’s love of and talent for it. Indeed, references to golf seem to be second only to testimony about the effects of the murders on friends and family.

Some court watchers speculated whether that was part of a defense plan to resonate with jurors who have an affinity for the game.

Gloria Allred, who represented Peterson’s girlfriend, Amber Frey, said: “It’s as though if you play golf, you shouldn’t have to be executed.”

Attorney Daniel Horowitz, another court watcher, said: “I think Peterson’s defense attorneys will argue golf is a paradigm for the man and his spirit, which is kind of goofy.”

Defense witnesses have talked about Peterson’s happy childhood and good works, including distributing food and clothes in Mexico.

The final witness in the penalty phase is expected to be Peterson’s mother, Jackie, who is to testify today.

Then the jury that convicted Peterson on Nov. 12 will consider whether he should be put to death or sent to prison for the rest of his life for the deaths of his pregnant wife, Laci, and her fetus.

Also testifying Tuesday was Susan Medina, a neighbor of the Petersons for about two years. “I have personal experience with execution.... My paternal grandfather was kidnapped and shot, and it happened close to Christmas,” she said.

The kidnappers were caught and put to death in the electric chair when she was 6 or 7.

Asked whether Peterson should be spared, she said: “I am a nurse. I have witnessed childbirths and the sadness of death. The people who were executed continue to haunt me.”