Convicted Murderer Scott Peterson Has a Blog

Remember the name Scott Peterson? He was the California man found guilty of murdering his wife, Laci Peterson, who was 8-months pregnant with their child. In 2005 he was sentenced to death by lethal injection, but as of yet, he remains on death row in San Quentin State Prison. Yet somehow this convicted criminal has managed to set himself up a blog.

Peterson does not have access to the internet from inside his prison cell. Rather, he's had some help from the outside. An organization known as Canadians Against the Death Penalty have provided the blog for him in hopes that it will eventually change the law for the death penalty.

Peterson's blog features photos of himself and his wife Laci, both smiling. It also links visitors to his family's support site, and other resources with information about his case.

Prisoners are not permitted to have direct computer access, as officials say that could allow them the opportunity to threaten witnesses or orchestrate further crimes. However, like anything, there are ways around this. Supporters and verious commercial services have helped many of the state's 673 condemned inmates make the connection to the web. Many of the inmates have pen-pal postings and personalized web pages with their writings, artwork, and photos of themselves. Many of these sites also include declarations of innocense and pleas for friendship and money.

Some of the inmates use sites in the United States, but so far the biggest provider is the non-profit Canadian Coalition Against the Death Penalty, which has created web pages or pen-pal ads for more than 100 California death row inmates. Their service is absolutely free.

Civil libertarians applaud this kind of activity as the exercise of free speech by isolated people, however, not everyone is so accepting. Victims' rights activists have labeled it an unneccessary affront to the loved ones of those whose suffering led society to lock them up in the first place.

But with prisoners having mail privleges, it is nearly impossible to stop things from going out. And once mailed out of the prison, anyone on the outside could post the information on their behalf.

Original Source : http://www.clevelandleader.com/node/6008