REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – In a sign of possible discord in the jury room, the judge in Scott Peterson’s murder case lectured the panel Monday about the importance of deliberating with an open mind.
It was not clear what led to the judge’s instructions, but trial observers speculated jurors are beginning to reach a deadlock.
“Do not hesitate to change your opinion for the purpose of reaching a verdict if you can do so,” Judge Alfred Delucchi said after summoning jurors to the courtroom just an hour and half after they resumed deliberations.
“The attitude and conduct of jurors at all times is very important,” he added. “It is rarely helpful for a juror at the beginning of deliberations to express an emphatic opinion on the case.”
The jurors listened with serious, even grim expressions before they were sent back into the jury room to deliberate.
“They’re stuck,” said Jim Hammer, a former prosecutor. The judge “clearly has indications that they’re beginning to hang.”
Jurors, before retiring for the day, later asked to review numerous pieces of evidence.
Peterson is charged with two counts of murder in the deaths of his wife, Laci, and the fetus she carried. Prosecutors claim Peterson killed Laci around Dec. 24, 2002, then sunk her weighted body in the bay.
Defense lawyers claim someone else abducted Laci and killed her, then framed her husband.
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