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Facts on The People V. Drew Peterson Case
The case of the people of Illinois V. Drew Peterson, 2017 IL 120331 in the Appellate Court of Illinois has been in the light due to the long time it took to be decided. Initially, the defendant, Drew Peterson, was charged with the first-degree murder of his ex-wife Kathleen Savio in 2008, where he was later sentenced to 38 years’ imprisonment. in this case, however, the defendant was charged with solicitation for murder and solicitation of murder for hire of an attorney Glasgow where he was sentenced to 40 years in prison.
The case on the murder of Kathleen was reopened by Glasgow in 2008, who presented evidence of the defendant having murdered his third ex-wife and made it look like an accident. This reopening was prompted by the disappearance of the defendant’s wife, Stacy Anne Cales, who had attempted to file for divorce without success (Appellate Court Of Illinois). The evidence presented after court ordered autopsy revealed that Kathleen Savio to have been murdered. Furthermore, Kathleen’s and Stacy’s hearsay statements were accepted by the court under the forfeiture of wrongdoing doctrine which permits presentation of the witness’s testimony if the defendant tries to prevent the witness from testifying.
Additionally, a witness testified that the defendant had tried to offer him a lump of money to ‘take care of his third wife before her death.’ Lastly, the state presented evidence from Stacy, that on the night of Kathleen’s death, the defendant had been absent from home (News Services Reports and Chicago Tribune Staff). He had then coached Stacy on what to say to the police following the discovery of Kathleen’s body. Peterson’s case lasted for seven weeks since July 2012, upon which the court found him guilty of murder of Savio and sent him to prison for 38 years (Appellate Court Of Illinois). The defendant was further charged with solicitation of murder of the prosecutor Glasgow and the solicitation of murder for hire, a decision upheld on May 31, 2016. The court denied the defendant’s file for new trial and sentenced him a 40 years’ prison term for the second charge. The subject was, however, not entitled to any special treatment in the two cases.
Works Cited
Appellate Court Of Illinois. The People Of Illinois V. Drew Peterson. Vol 49, 2017.
News Services Reports, and Chicago Tribune Staff. “Illinois Supreme Court Upholds Drew Peterson’s Murder Conviction; Appeal ‘Likely'”. Chicagotribune.Com, 2017, https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-drew-peterson-murder-case-appeal-supreme-court-20170921-story.html.