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Goodheart

(5,264 posts)
Tue May 12, 2020, 12:26 PM May 2020

Anybody else watch "The Staircase" on Netflix?

I guess it's really unlikely to give "spoilers" here because the Michael Peterson trial was so public, but if you don't know his verdict or fate and you're interested in seeing the documentary then it's probably best not to read the rest of this.

Anyway, a few observations:

- Peterson is AS GUILTY AS SIN. I don't have to see the many details of the case left out of the documentary to state that as a juror I would have voted to convict.

- It's very difficult to not be disgusted by paid "expert witnesses", Dr. Henry Lee in particular. You remember Dr. Lee, don't you? The so-called "splatter expert" made famous by the O.J. trial? Well, he's part of this circus, too, and his schtick is very obvious: get rich by playing contrarian to logic, to soak up big bucks from desperate but rich clients. He has no shame.

- It's very easy to be disgusted by public officials who create or lie about evidence, and I feel that if they're caught they should face the same penalties the defendant would have gotten if convicted. There's one guy in this case, for example, who robbed an innocent man of 17 years of his life, cheating that man of watching his daughter grow, graduate, get married, and having his grandson. Absolutely disgusting. And as painfully obvious as it is to me that Peterson is guilty, he certainly was entitled to a new trial.

- Some criminal defense attorneys are not even human, in my book. I could not in a million years lend my expertise to defending somebody I KNOW beyond a reasonable doubt murdered at least one, if not two, women in his life. Yes, they have a job to do, but I couldn't do it. And despite his attorney's insistence that Peterson had nothing to do with those deaths I just can't buy it. As the evidence piled up he's just oblivious... guess that's the mindset you have to take.

- It's outrageous in this country what advantages a rich person has within our justice system. This Peterson guy was able to hire a team... strike that, it was like an entire COMMITTEE.. of defense lawyers, who in turn then hired multiple practice jurors, video presentation experts, took plane trips to Germany, hired so-called "experts" to appear at trial, etc., etc. If Peterson spent less than $5 million on his defense I'd be shocked. A poor man who couldn't do those things would have gotten a day in court and then thrown immediately into the slammer.

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hlthe2b

(101,730 posts)
3. There should be a line for criminal defense attorneys that won't be crossed. It is laid out in
Tue May 12, 2020, 12:33 PM
May 2020

bar association standards and ethics guidelines. But, every decade it seems as though we move closer to the "win" and all costs--not for the client but for the attorney's record and $$-making future.

I don't know the answer, but I am DONE with the constant refrain that "everyone deserves competent legal counsel." NONE OF US (that I'm aware of) or at least no major majority of Americans would argue against that, but trickery, lying, encouraging "expert witnesses" to lie or intentionally misrepresent or turning a blind eye to witness intimidation behind the scenes is not THAT.

Goodheart

(5,264 posts)
7. I have turned sour against this whole adversarial setup in our criminal justice system.
Tue May 12, 2020, 12:39 PM
May 2020

"Justice" in this country is for the rich.

SWBTATTReg

(21,859 posts)
9. You still have to open the post to glance and see what in the world you're talking about, and bam,
Tue May 12, 2020, 12:42 PM
May 2020

all of the post is wide open for all to see, w/ your total commentary. Can't take any criticism eh?

LeftInTX

(24,557 posts)
10. I read the book Written in Blood about the case
Tue May 12, 2020, 12:50 PM
May 2020

Published in 2005...I won't be watching any sympathy show for Michael Peterson. It will just get me mad!

The docuseries, "The Confession Killing" made me want to hurl bricks at my TV. I despise Henry Lee Lucas and almost didn't watch it because I'm still tired of the "Henry Lee Lucas Show", which was a mainstay of the news in the 80s...but the series exposed a lot of "case closed BS" in law enforcement.

Goodheart

(5,264 posts)
11. This was, no doubt, a sympathy show for Michael Peterson
Tue May 12, 2020, 12:55 PM
May 2020

He would not have consented to allowing a French production company into his legal machinations, the courtroom, or his personal life unless he thought he could sell himself.

He didn't win me over, though. What I saw is some narcissist who tried to turn every interview into some keen cutesy story... too in love with himself. By the fourth episode I had to fast forward past his many chats... just couldn't be bored with them any more. And a lot of his reactions were staged and false.

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