Ex-detective says he first suspected victim's boyfriend in Modesto murder

Yes, the relationship with the boyfriend was violent enough to suspect the boyfriend had something to do with Dena's disappearance.  But, when a thorough investigation into said suspect produced NO evidence whatsoever, Bertalotto should have been smart enough to figure out that he needed to find a new suspect.  Lucky for Mark Keough, Dena's disappearance didn't get the national spotlight, or else he would have been wrongfully convicted.  Instead, Dena's case just went into the cold file storage, and Bertalotto advanced to being a detective for the DA's office.

http://www.modbee.com/2011/06/28/1752930/jones-trial-former-detective-says.html#storylink=omni_popular

Be sure to read the comments -- especially the ones that call for an immediate lynching. That's exactly what people would have done with Keough -- just took him to the nearest tree and strung him up, no matter that he wasn't guilty.  It's because of people like this that our justice system sucks.

Oh, and don't overlook zitalian's post -- s/he wants to punish Jones's parents, too.  

Some serious accusations against the Stanislaus County DAs office

The following link includes some serious accusations against Steve Jacobson, investigator for the DAs office.  Jacobson was very involved in Scott Peterson's case, having handled the wiretaps and making the transcripts for the Amber calls.

http://followajfollowstanford.blogspot.com

Filing Extension granted - New deadline is August 1, 2011

The email notification provision on the California Appellate Courts website does sometimes work.  Just now I received this email notification:

PEOPLE v. PETERSON (SCOTT)

Case: S132449, Supreme Court of California

Date (YYYY-MM-DD):                     2011-06-15

Event Description:                           Extension of time granted

Notes: 

Appellant's request for relief from default is granted.

               

On application of appellant and good cause appearing, it is ordered that the time to serve and file appellant's opening brief is extended to and including August 1, 2011.

Another filing extension requested

We finally have information about the opening brief that was due to be filed on June 1.

06/09/2011

Application for relief from default filed

and request for extension of time to file appellant's opening brief. (3rd request)

I believe these requests are pretty liberally granted, so I don't expect the CASC to deny it.  I assume it will be a standard 90-day extension.

Happy Mother's Day

Mother's Day is such a great opportunity to express our love for our own Mothers.  It's also a day to reach out in compassion and empathy for those Mothers who suffer seemingly inconsolable grief for the loss of a child.

I've never been the victim of a violent crime, much less one that resulted in the death of a child or a wrongful conviction of a child.  My heart goes out to both sets of Mothers.

It is my prayer that all Mothers grieving over the loss of a child through a violent crime, and all Mothers who grieve over the wrongful conviction of a child, will find comfort in the Grace of Jesus Christ.

And for all those Mothers who grieve over a child taking up a life of crime, may you also find comfort in the Grace of Jesus Christ.

When I first learned about Laci and Scott Peterson, they were strangers to me - total strangers.  I had never been to Modesto and didn't know a single soul involved.  The closest I came to a personal involvement in this case was that I knew who Gary Condit was, and that he was from Modesto CA.  That's it.

There is one Mother in particular that I've had some occasion to observe from a distance, and that is Jackie Peterson.  This Mother has been vilified and condemned by many people who have never spent a moment in her presence, but have judged her by false and misleading media reports and simply because they hated Scott so much that the logical conclusion was to hate his Mother just as much, if not more.

Jackie is not the woman portrayed on the forums and in the media.  She's a very loving, caring, and strong woman.  I found this Mother's poem online and I think it speaks directly to Jackie.  Even though she is not my Mother, I have learned so much from her Christian example.  Thanks, Jackie, for being a Christian.


The Fruit of the Spirit

My mother is a Christian,
In every important way;
The fruit of the Holy Spirit
Is displayed in her every day.

My mother is filled with kindness,
With love and joy and peace;
Her patience and her goodness
Inspire, and never cease.

She follows our Lord Jesus
With faithfulness, and more;
She’s gentle and has self control,
She knows what prayer is for.

Thanks, Mom, for being a Christian,
And showing me how to be;
I’ll follow your example
For all eternity.

By Joanna Fuchs

Beyond Reasonable Doubt: Is this Standard being met?

This is a reprint from the April 15, 2006 Constant Contact Newsletter.  Though it's not about Scott's case, it certainly speaks to the prevalent public attitude that contributes to wrongful convictions.  Time after time, when various aspects of the State's case have been proven to be wrong, people don't change their minds about Scott's innocence, they just change their theory on how he did it and thus got away with it.

Ray Krone was sentenced to death after being convicted for the 1991 killing of Kim Ancona, a bartender at a Phoenix lounge where he played darts. His conviction was based largely on expert testimony that supposedly matched his teeth with bite marks found on the victim.

That first conviction was overturned on technicality, including the failure of prosecutors to disclose that another dental expert said the bite marks did not match. A second trial resulted in a new conviction. But this time the judge refused to impose the death penalty, saying there were questions about whether Krone was the real killer.

Finally, in April 2002, Krone was freed through DNA evidence. He asked a question that haunts those who are concerned about the rising toll of wrongful convictions.

"I didn't do it, so how could there be unquestionable evidence that I did?"

His question demands an answer -- from those 24 Jurors and from the American people.

Whether we like it or not, the buck for these wrongful convictions stops with the jurors, fellow Americans. I fear that to most Americans, beyond reasonable doubt means the defendant is guilty if there is any doubt at all this he or she is innocent -- just the opposite of what it's supposed to be.

This attitude is not only unconstitutional, it is highly immoral. It's an attitude that must change.

The construction of the south breakwater

I've previously believed that the south and west breakwaters at the Conner Recovery Site were built to protect that wildlife refuge from wave erosion.  I've since learned that the breakwaters were built in 1931 when there was no tidal flat present -- where Conner was found was then an open water environment.  I've borrowed this topographic map from pg. 45 of the "Western Stege Marsh Restoration Project Year 5 Hydrologic Monitoring Report" prepared by the Kamman Hydrology and Engineering, Inc., and annotated it to indicate Conner's recovery location and to label open water environments.

To get a better perspective on how the area has changed in appearance, I've annotated a Google Earth map to show the previous layout.  The West set of breakwaters consists of A, B, C, and D.  The East section consists of E and F.  A is no longer visible; it was either removed or has been totally covered with landfill.  B is less than half as long as it used to be.

I've not been able to find literature that specifically identifies how these breakwaters were constructed, but during this last trip I did catch a good look at the west end of E, which continues to protrude into the open water environment.  It was obvious that this is a rubble mound structure, and the assumption is that the sections of the West breakwaters were built the same way.  

You can see how the land fill has covered up the rest of the northern side of the breakwater.  That is exactly what has happened with the south breakwater (C) on the Conner Site.  I did a little experiment on this visit.  At one point on the north side of the breakwater, I tried to drive a scredriver into the ground, and could not penetrate more than a couple of inches.  It wasn't just hard to penetrate, it was impossible. It definitely is rock under the mud.  

I borrowed a diagram of a rubble mound structure from 2-17-00, Breakwaters and Rubble Mound Structure Design, and annotated it to show the amount of land fill on the northern side.  The "sea side" is the southern slope of the breakwater. 

On this last trip, I tried to measure the "crest width," but was unable to do so because it is too short a distance for the range finder.  Instead I had to measure out to one of the rocks on the southern slope.  

This next photo shows the same rocks, but from the backside (or the southern, seaward slope).  In this photo, the black arrow points to the rock I was standing in front of to take the measurement, and the yellow arrow to the point of the rock point that I measured to.  That rock is 3'6" across at its longest point, and 1"10" tall.  The rock above it is 4'5" across its longest point.

In a few days I will post a YouTube video of numerous photos of the southern side of the breakwater, to give you a perspective of what the waves caused by gusty winds would be beating up against.