Journey to Justice

You probably have heard the news that the authorities have arrested a man they believe killed Chandra Levy. I hope they have indeed correctly determined who murdered Ms. Levy, because I remember when they failed her and her family, and destroyed Gary Condit and his family with allegations that Mr. Condit was responsible. I am embarrassed that I believed the accusations at the time. Boy, have I learned a lot.

Many years have passed, so I do not recall all of the speculation that was going on in the media, nor do I recall what the authorities were saying. The crux of it was that as soon as it was known that Mr. Condit had an inappropriate affair with Ms. Levy, they pointed the finger of guilt directly at him. Then came the reports of "odd behavior". I recall something about discarding a watch, a box, or maybe it was some other item. Most in the media were saying that since Condit was acting guilty, he must be guilty. I vividly remember Rush Limbaugh taking great delight in pronouncing Mr. Condit guilty. Limbaugh referred to him as "Con did it".

Thank goodness they did not arrest Mr. Condit. With the prejudice manufactured against him, a jury may have very well convicted him - even without any evidence. I believe this presumption of guilt impacted the search for, and ultimately the investigation into who killed Ms. Levy. If the authorities had not decided that Mr. Condit was guilty, and if some in the media had not gladly added fuel to this fire, perhaps Ms. Levy and her family could have had more timely justice.

Scott

In my last post entitled, "Why Didn't They Look", I expressed my grief and frustration about how the Modesto Police Department made no effort to investigate into who took my family from us. As one can read in the trial transcripts, they did not follow up on sightings of Laci, tips on where she may have been being held, nor tips from people with knowledge of possible suspects. To support my argument on how the Modesto Police may have brought my family home to us if they had spent just a fraction of their resources on it, I included a study done by the California Commission on the Fair administration of Justice. The study outlined the expense of the wrongful trial held against me. (The amount that the Modesto Police spent would have been better data, but I did not have it.)

Some interpreted my thoughts in that post as commentary on the cost of
the death penalty. That was not my point, but I can see how it was
misinterpreted given the content of the study I cited. I often fail in
communicating my point, so please bear with me.

This post includes a spreadsheet that comes from the District Attorney's claim to the state for reimbursement of trial costs. What I want to highlight is the $24,000 the D.A. spent to purchase tapes of television shows on this "case". These are tapes from shows such as Larry King Live and On the Record with Greta Van Sustren, in which talking heads spread rumor and innuendo. Is this investigation? Is this Law Enforcement collecting evidence? No.

Within the discovery that the D.A. is forced to provide were thousands of pages of television show transcripts. During the so-called investigation, the police were spending time collecting this garbage! Sure, some of the transcripts included interviews with Sharon, Brent, and Amy Rocha, as well as Ron Grantski, and collecting the transcripts with this content may be appropriate, but the majority of the transcripts were only of people speculating.

I believe this shows two things. First, I believe it shows how concerned the police and D.A were with their image. Second, I believe that it shows they were interested in knowing what false theories would sway public opinion. They were more interested in conjecture and emotion than facts. My wrongful arrest and conviction was partly due to these factors.

The police pointed a finger at me on day one, and the D.A. was involved almost immediately. They became invested in convicting me. facts and forensic tests showed that I could not be involved, but they had already put all their eggs in one basket. It was then impossible for them to back away without embarrassment. I do not think they wanted to admit to anyone, not even themselves, that they may be wrong, so they carried on. This explains why the D.A. would not complete a proper investigation and it explains why they would not test to see if it was possible to throw a body from our small boat (as is their sick theory). They did not want to know that it was not possible.

Let me point out a few things that support my thoughts on their desire for positive media coverage and the way they used the press. In the early morning hours of a day in January 2003, after the Modesto Bee newspaper ran a story with information the police knew to be false, Det. Brocchini called people to tell them to read the article. He then sent the false information to my employer. I don't know who planted this false information, but Det. Brocchini sure enjoyed spreading the fiction. Police reports also detail how detectives asked many witnesses, "do you think we are doing a good job?"

Another example of their media consciousness occurred at my wrongful arrest. Stanislaus County has two jails. When I was arrested, a mob gathered at the downtown jail. Some police personnel, using common sense, wanted to have me booked at the location without the unruly mob, to avoid any potential problems. Police brass overruled this in favor of a spectacle and media coverage at the downtown jail.

The police kept up their public relations effort. Even during trial, after a "gag-order" was in place, the judge had to rebuke a police Lt. for the department's violation of it.

I would also argue that there was motivation for personal gain in garnering positive press coverage from my wrongful conviction. After trial, one Assistant D.A. became a judge, another became D.A., and the sitting D.A. moved to a profitable consultant position. Several detectives, two of whom it was proven lied in reports or in testimony, received promotions. Many saw my conviction as a windfall. System wide, some in law enforcement and district attorney's offices have substituted advancement of career or esteem of their offices in place of the search for justice. Not all, but some. This puts all of us in jeopardy. In our situation, this resulted in the police not saving my family when they may have been able to.

Scott Peterson