Drew Peterson's murder conviction is upheld; prosecutor calls it 'vindication'By Chicago Tribune staff
November 13, 2015, 10:57 AM
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/loca ... story.html(excerpt)
Drew Peterson's conviction and prison sentence for the murder of his third wife, Kathleen Savio, were affirmed by the Illinois Appellate Court, which said the circumstantial evidence against him proved he had the motive and the opportunity to commit the crime.
The court, in an 87-page ruling, said the evidence against the retired police sergeant was "sufficient" to show he killed Savio, who was found dead in the bathtub of her Bolingbrook home in 2004. The medical evidence, the court wrote, made clear that Savio had been murdered, while "the remaining circumstantial evidence and the reasonable inferences therefrom" proved that Peterson was her killer.
The court also upheld Peterson's 38-year sentence, which means he will not be paroled until May 2047, when he would be 93.
In a unanimous opinion, the court declared it had found no errors at trial — an unequivocal statement for such a nuanced case like Peterson's. His attorneys had argued that a series of erroneous rulings by the trial judge, when taken in their totality, had denied Peterson the right to a fair trial.
"The defendant argues that he was denied a fair trial because of the cumulative effect of all of the errors listed," the opinion states. "However, since we have found that no errors occurred, defendant's claim of cumulative error must be rejected."
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For the full article click on the link.
I find it a bit odd that they didn't find any errors in this case. Usually they at least find a little something in a complicated case such as this but then say it was harmless error or didn't affect the verdict etc. The way this case/trial has been handled just seems off to me. I may not like Drew Peterson but it bothers me that things just don't seem quite right in the way his case has been handled. I'm not really concerned about Drew Peterson, personally, but am concerned about the overall damage to law and justice that may occur. JMO
Here is a link to the opinion:
http://www.illinoiscourts.gov/Opinions/ ... 130157.pdf