Volume III. No. 34
 03-17-05
 Similar Crimes, Different Outcomes
 author: Vance Cureton
 © Copyright 2005
 

 Two courtroom scenes in California yesterday, could not have been any 
 more different. Scott Peterson - in an untelevised proceeding - apparently 
 sat as stonefaced and emotionless as a zombie while his dead wife's relatives 
 attacked him with malicious words. The only tools available to them.

 Scott was described as evil and deserving of spending an eternity in the 
 burning fires of hell. Within the American system of jurisprudence this 
 kind of verbal assault against a defendant who has been found guilty, is 
 regarded as providing closure for relatives of the injured party. 

 These victim impact statements actually change nothing. Because if a man 
 is so emotionally-deranged that he could murder his own wife and unborn 
 child, and within days begin courting another woman, then the words of 
 anger spoken by those near and dear to Laci Peterson are of no consequence.

 All the justice that is left for Laci's kin is to look forward to the day that Scott 
 Peterson will receive a drug cocktail courtesy of the state. A lethal concoction
 that will close the book on the case, once and for all.

 The death penalty is decidely barbaric. Not one single individual who has 
 ever been murdered, has subsequently arisen from the dead after the execution 
 of the person responsible for their demise. In the Peterson case - as in all murder 
 cases  - no ideal solution really exists. Let Scott have his four walls to stare 
 at, and a lousy prison diet to survive upon for the next 40 years or so. Not 
 to mention the fact that he would have to live ever minute of every day with 
 the worry that if the security on his cell block every faltered, his very life 
 would be at risk.

 Such excruciating mental torture  - some would say - is a fate even worse 
 than death.

 Robert Blake is no Scott Peterson. This former child star has always worn
 his emotions right out-front where everyone could see them. Blake could 
 easily be described as quirky, loud and overly emotional at times, combative,
 and a bit of a flake. These characteristics can actually work to an actor's 
 advantage in Hollywood, because emotion tends to fill the big screen. And 
 when the package is wrapped in a masculine Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde kind of 
 visage. Such onscreen vibrancy usually means "a star is born."

 Blake's star only rose so high. Ironically, his greatest Hollywood role 
 was as an emotionally unstable murderer in the film of version of Truman 
 Capote's book, "In Cold Blood." { Perhaps, Blake wasn't acting as much 
 as once was thought.} Anyway, he followed that with a charismatic turn,
 as television's Baretta. A role where he played another emotionally 
 over-the-top tough guy.

 There is definitely a pattern here.

 Law enforcement believes Blake murdered his wife, Bonnie Lee Bakley.
 They just couldn't prove that fact beyond a reasonable doubt. The jury 
 explained after their not guilty verdict, that there was no precise physical
 link between Blake and a murder weapon. Contrast that with the fact that 
 law enforcement never actually proved how Scott Peterson murdered Laci, 
 or when exactly the act occurred. Neither could they account for the lack 
 of more definitive forensic evidence tying Peterson to the crime.

 This is not in defense of the idea that Scott Peterson is an innocent man.
 However, he's on his way to death row at San Quentin, while Robert Blake 
 is simply, on his way home.

 The jury just didn't care for Scott Peterson. He was convicted for being a 
 rotten human being as much as for what the government could produce
 as evidence of his direct involvement in Laci's murder. 

 Peterson was slimy, smug, cold, and as inviting as a bucket of dead fish. 
 Blake gave his jury - and the worldwide media that was watching - something 
 human to relate to. Not only that, but a part of his inner self was on display 
 in that courtroom everyday. 

 Blake was never inappropriate or distant. The government wasn't going 
 to get this guy convicted of murder, just for being a bad guy. And they 
 did not.

 Perhaps Scott Peterson can consider Blake's positive jury verdict as a 
 lesson learned too late. The display of a bit of genuine human emotion 
  - no matter how raw and flaky - can have more influence upon a jury, 
 than all the high-priced lawyering that money can buy.
 
 

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