Legislators and State Prosecutors Attempting to Deny Confrontation Clause Guarantees, Presumption of Innocence
By: Houston Criminal Defense Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
Former Illinois police sergeant Drew Peterson has been married four times. Wife three, Kathleen Savio, died under mysterious circumstances in February 2004 just weeks before her divorce settlement with Peterson was to become final. Her dead body was found lying face down in an empty bathtub. Her hair was soaked in blood from a head wound. A Coroner’s Jury ruled her death an accident.
But Savio’s family members from the beginning believed that Peterson was responsible for her death. It had been an abusive, violent marriage from the beginning. Who was responsible for the spousal abuse in the marriage is still a subject of considerable debate. Kathleen tried to have a domestic violence complaint filed against Peterson but he was never charged. Kathleen, however, was charged twice in 2002 with battery and domestic battery, although she was acquitted each time. Kathleen reportedly told her family members that if something happened to her, Peterson would be responsible.
But despite the unusual circumstances surrounding Kathleen’s death, there was never any serious law enforcement effort to charge Peterson with any kind of crime associated with her death. Then in 2007 Peterson’s fourth wife, Stacy, disappeared under peculiar circumstances. Stacy’s disappearance immediately drew virtual non-stop cable news channel coverage. Nancy Grace could barely contain herself. She rode that news pony to death until the Caley Anthony case broke in 2008 giving her another media pony to ride into the ground.
Stacy Peterson’s disappearance also gave the Savio family an opportunity to resurrect her death from the grave. They pressed for an exhumation and a new autopsy. There were so many sound bites and news spins that the 24-hour cable news cycle could barely keep abreast of the dizzying pace of the coverage. There were times when the Peterson case forced a historical presidential campaign to take a backseat to “breaking news” about some “new detail” discovered in the case. Chris Matthews was not the only cable chatterer who felt a “tingle” running up his leg. (more…)
Subscribe
