Peterson, who may receive the death penalty for his crime, had been accused of the murder of his wife and unborn son, and also committed the despicable crime of occupying TV sets everywhere for more than a year when word of his sensationalized crime reached news organizations. His high-profile lawyer, smarmy Mark Geragos, defended his client as “an abominable dick, but not guilty of the crime.” While for the opposing side, prosecutor Rick Distaso painted a picture of a man who was “a dick who did exactly what it sounds like he did.”
Details of the trial captured the imagination of America, as the miseries of others in the world whose fate our actions control went forgotten. The case became even more fascinating for the uninvolved when it was revealed Peterson had kept a mistress massage therapist named Amber, and the jury were treated to tapes of their sexy phone calls. For months, viewers followed the search for the remains of Laci Peterson, Scott’s wife, and their unborn son, and ratings went through the roof when they were discovered in the San Francisco Bay. Peterson was arrested with blond hair, but not for that reason, and was carrying $15,000 the prosecution said he was using to flee to Mexico.
People in no danger from Scott Peterson at all expressed how relieved they were he would be going to jail, or would receive the death penalty. Like Mitzi Kownuhno, of Gleaton, Rhode Island.
“At last, the world makes sense again,” over-dramatized Kownuhno, upon watching the verdict on TV.
Those who showed up in person to hear Peterson’s fate were also happy about his guilt.
“He’s going to get exactly what he deserves, and I would like to be the one to pull the switch,” said Herbert Teal of San Mateo, a jobless man who would like to apply for a public executioner position.
Fellow bystander Kiki Armoire agreed. “It’s the kind of crime where you have to sit up and take notice. A woman, carrying her husband’s child, betrayed by a man she thought was faithful to her… it’s scary to think it could happen to any of us.” Armoire, 34, admitted she had no husband or children, and had been watching the case extensively between reruns of C.S.I.
“We got him,” exclaimed fellow outsider Michelle Pozowonysk, hugging a nearby stranger as she cried. “Thank God we got him!”
In other cities, people gathered in groups to watch the announcement of the verdict on CNN and Court-TV. Living viewers in public establishments such as Vorlon’s Tavern in New York City awaited the verdict with baited breath, as if it mattered in the slightest in their insignificant, quickly-evaporating human lives. Most reacted with a swell of joy at the decision, though some demonstrated a degree of disappointment.
“Well, shit,” said Jimmy “Meatball” Hughes, a sanitation engineer from Brooklyn. “That’s all I had to watch until they start showing the Christmas specials on the TV.”