Scott Peterson's On Death Row: What About the Family?
A Young Woman's Story of Her Own "Scott Peterson" Trial
ByJessica Valadez

Scott Peterson has been sentenced to death for the murder of Laci Peterson and her unborn baby. Everyone I've been talking to says they want him to die. I also want justice, but I can't help thinking about his family. Doesn't anyone take into consideration that Scott Peterson is a son, a brother, a cousin for people who did no wrong?

This trial has been very personal for me, because my family has been going through its own "Scott-Laci" tragedy. I can't help but feel for the brothers and sisters of Scott Peterson. Though I don't know them, I think I know the conflict that is within them. They are split, wanting to support a family member that they have known their whole lives, and wanting to condemn murder at the same time.

Back in September, my cousin was accused of killing his wife. She was 20 years old and a mother of two. There were no witnesses to the murder. Her family claims my cousin intentionally shot her in the head. My cousin says his wife was intoxicated and pulled out the gun. It went off, he says, as he fought her in self-defense. He panicked and buried her body.

Throughout this whole ordeal I have been tormented. I could not accept the fact that my own cousin could be capable of taking someone else's life. I remember those nights sleeping on bunk beds and just telling him my problems. He was always there to listen. If ever anyone was giving me a hard time, there he was, just like an older brother. He would never think badly of me no matter what I did.

I remember the day I found out. My dad was packing his things and told me he was going to Texas. I asked him why. That's when my parents sat me down and broke the news. They told me a couple days after it happened because they knew I would take it hard. I was stunned. For that moment, everything froze. My tears didn't stop, my smile couldn't surface and my face was just a blank stare.

Today, I feel like I'm stuck between the shadows. Where do I draw the line between my moral positions against violence and the love I have for my own blood? I don't want my cousin to feel that I disowned him because of what he allegedly did, but then again, I don't want him to think I'm going to be behind him no matter what just because he's family. It's so puzzling.

Like the Peterson case, my family incident took place in a small town, except in Texas. In a small town, everyone knows each other. Things like this don't happen every day. And even though the case has not received anything near the exposure that the Peterson trial has, there is no running away from the media for my family. Reporters constantly called the household and showed up at my family's doorstep. It felt like the whole town was taking out their anger on them.

Opening up the newspaper and seeing labels like "killer" and "murderer" to identify someone I used to play with as a child angers and confuses me. My family is contemplating moving out of state.

As my cousin awaits his arraignment, we're still a family. And just like the images of Scott Peterson's mom pleading with the jury for her son's life, we have been behind my cousin 110 percent. For us, it's about loving a family matter even if he is a possible murderer. It amazes me to see how strong we all have been in all of this. No one is choosing sides or letting the whole situation tear us apart. Our ties have kept us sealed tighter than any envelope.

If I could say anything to a family member of Scott Peterson, I'd say, "Stay strong." You know the difference between right and wrong. You can stick to those beliefs while remaining supportive. As for my cousin, maybe he knew what he was doing or maybe it was an accident. I don't know. But I do know that nothing can change the love that I have for him. People can say what they want to say, call him a killer, but no one knows what we have been through all these years. No one will ever hold the fond memories I have of us growing up. No one can break our ties or undo our past.

There's no telling what the courts will decide. This is a bridge I still have to cross, one the Petersons have already reached. But when I get there, I'll know what's right.