On Monday, a California judge approved a discovery process for convicted murderer Scott Peterson, nearly 20 years after his conviction for killing his pregnant wife.
Judge Elizabeth Hill of the San Mateo County Superior Court granted Peterson’s request for a post-conviction discovery period, according to a document obtained by Fox News Digital.
Hill approved some evidence requests from Peterson’s legal team while denying others, which will allow him to possess “prosecution and law enforcement authorities to which the same defendant would have been entitled at the time of trial.”
The Los Angeles Innocence Project has been assisting Peterson since January.
The discovery period is allowed under California Penal Code 1054.9, which grants discovery rights to defendants convicted of serious or violent felonies and sentenced to at least 15 years.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Peterson is serving a life sentence without parole for the deaths of his wife, Laci, and their unborn son.
It’s currently unclear whether the discovery will allow Peterson the retrial he is seeking.
Peterson suggested that burglars, targeting a nearby home around the time of Laci’s death, were responsible for her murder. The burglars later testified that they had broken into the house on December 26, 2002, after Laci had already disappeared.
Check back for updates.
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[Feature Photo: Scott Peterson listens during a hearing at the San Mateo County Superior Court in Redwood City, Calif., Friday, Feb. 25, 2022. The juror at the heart of convicted murderer Scott Peterson’s retrial bid swore Friday that she had no animosity toward him until after she heard evidence that he had killed his pregnant wife in a case that grabbed worldwide attention in 2004.(AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, Pool)]
