Murderer Scott Peterson’s Death Sentence Overturned

It's hard to believe it has been fifteen years since the nation was transfixed on the trial of Scott Peterson, who was suspected and eventually convicted of murdering his wife, Laci, and their unborn son, Conner.

The highly publicized case alleged Peterson murdered his pregnant wife on Christmas Eve in 2002 and dumped her body in the San Francisco Bay.

Months later, the remains of Laci and Conner washed up on the Bay shoreline.

On November 12, 2004, Scott Peterson was convicted on two counts of murder: first-degree murder of Laci and second-degree murder of the fetus she was carrying. The judge presiding over the case sentenced Scott to death by lethal injection and ordered him to pay $10,000 toward the victim's funeral. He as been on death row in San Quentin State Prison since 2005.

On Monday, the California Supreme Court overturned his death penalty sentence. While the murder conviction against Peterson stayed in place, the court ordered a new penalty phase trial.

The court ruled the trial judge in Peterson's case "made a series of clear and significant errors in jury selection that, under long-standing United States Supreme Court precedent, undermined Peterson's right to an impartial jury at the penalty phase."