Come September, lawyers for convicted murderer Michael Peterson will argue to Judge Orlando Hudson that the former Durham resident deserves a new trial. This piece is a fascinating look at Peterson’s core group of supporters who visit him regularly at the Nash Correctional Institution.
Peterson’s past attempts at securing a retrial have failed. In October 2005 one of his defense attorneys filed an appeal stating that irrelevant evidence presented by the prosecution prevented Peterson from getting a fair trial. In November 2008 another defense lawyer filed a motion alleging that prosecutors withheld evidence during the trial.
The most recent incident that offers Peterson hope involves a North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation agent who was fired in January for hiding and manipulating key blood evidence. In 2003 the agent, Duane Deaver, served as a vital witness for the prosecution, stating that the blood patterning on the stairwell and on Peterson’s clothes proved that he attacked Kathleen with a fireplace poker. Based on those developments, Peterson’s lawyer David Rudolf met April 12 with the judge on the case, Orlando Hudson, who agreed to schedule a hearing for this September. During the hearing, if Hudson determines that Deaver’s testimony unfairly influenced the jury’s verdict, he may grant Peterson a new trial. Deaver’s lawyer, Philip Isley, declined to comment.
