Alex Constantine - June 2, 2012
Judge order says Michael Peterson’s rights violated by SBI agent
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The conviction in 2003 of Durham novelist Michael Peterson was obtained with “materially misleading” and “deliberately false” testimony from a State Bureau of Investigation agent who was a crucial witness about blood evidence in the murder case that spawned TV movies, books and a film, according to a written order filed on Wednesday.
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Link See the cases flagged as troubling by an audit of the SBI
gallery Michael Peterson leaves jail | 12.15.11
gallery Peterson gets new trial | 12.14.11
gallery Michael Peterson's new trial hearing | 12.13.11
Saunders: Inmates line up for gifts from disgraced SBI blood-spatter expert
Saunders: Until a few weeks ago, you probably thought that I was the baddest Santa you'd ever seen. That was before Duane Deaver offered expert testimony during trials of convicted murderers.
Ex-SBI agent Deaver's testimony could lead to reviews
Duane Deaver's work paved the path for Michael Peterson's new trial. His testimony also could force another look at the sentences of several other convicted murderers.
PDF Supportive and dismissive letters about Duane Deaver
Link Read more in the Agents' Secrets series
Link See the cases flagged as troubling by an audit of the SBI
Judges' decision in Peterson case puts SBI in tough spot over former agent Deaver
When Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson ordered a new trial for Durham author Michael Peterson, he uttered a phrase seldom used by a judge describing the conduct of an SBI agent on the witness stand: "perjured testimony."
gallery Michael Peterson leaves jail | 12.15.11
gallery Peterson gets new trial | 12.14.11
Peterson released from prison; awaits new trial in wife's murder
Durham novelist Michael Peterson walked out of the Durham County Jail shortly after 6 p.m. today, joining his family for the first time after eight years in prison. Peterson spoke briefly after leaving the jail, saying he looks forward to proving his innocence in a "fair trial."
gallery Michael Peterson leaves jail | 12.15.11
gallery Peterson gets new trial | 12.14.11
Story Defense challenged Deaver at trial in 2003
Defense challenged Deaver at trial in 2003
Michael Peterson's hearing for a new trial this month was not the first time his defense team had challenged the credentials of former State Bureau of Investigation agent Duane Deaver.
Records counter Deaver's testimony
State Bureau of Investigation records of former agent Duane Deaver's cases show that Deaver had not done any work involving people hurt or killed in falls when he testified at the murder trial of Durham novelist Michael Peterson, according to testimony Tuesday.
gallery Michael Peterson's new trial hearing | 12.13.11
Link Read more in the Agents' Secrets series
Link See the cases flagged as troubling by an audit of the SBI
The Michael Peterson hearing took on some trappings of a film festival Thursday, somehow appropriate for a criminal case that has spawned documentaries and a feature film.
gallery Peterson hearing | 12.08.11
gallery Peterson fights for new trial | 12.06.11
SBI expert's partiality, methods questioned in Peterson hearing
To win a new trial, Durham novelist Michael Peterson and his lawyers are arguing that former SBI agent Duane Deaver tailored his expert witness testimony not to the facts or science of a case, but to what prosecutors wanted him to say.
gallery Michael Peterson hearing continues | 12.07.11
gallery Peterson fights for new trial | 12.06.11 Link Read more in the Agents' Secrets series
Link See the cases flagged as troubling by an audit of the SBI
A story and a photo caption on Wednesday about the Michael Peterson court hearing incorrectly spelled the name of SBI Assistant Director Erik Hooks.
Peterson's team works to discredit Deaver's testimony
Former SBI agent Duane Deaver showed a strong bias for the prosecution early in his career, according to SBI documents introduced in the Michael Peterson hearing today. Peterson, a Durham novelist convicted of the 2001 murder of his wife, has said he deserves a new trial because of Deaver's testimony.
gallery Michael Peterson hearing continues | 12.07.11
Story SBI says Deaver exaggerated expertise
Story Judge asked to rescind order on prison records
gallery Peterson fights for new trial | 12.06.11
Link See the cases flagged as troubling by an audit of the SBI
SBI says Deaver exaggerated expertise
Former SBI agent Duane Deaver misrepresented agency policy and exaggerated his training and experience under oath when he was certified as an expert witness in the Michael Peterson trial, according to SBI records and the SBI internal affairs director.
gallery Peterson fights for new trial | 12.06.11
Story Judge asked to rescind order on prison records
Link Read more in the Agents' Secrets series
Link See the cases flagged as troubling by an audit of the SBI
A story on Tuesday about Michael Peterson's return to Durham to seek a re-trial on his murder conviction inaccurately described two family members who were in the courtroom supporting him. Peterson raised Margaret and Martha Ratliff after their parents died. The story also should have said that Peterson had claimed two Purple Hearts from his military service in Vietnam, not three.
Agents' Secrets: Day One: SBI agents have cut corners, bullied the vulnerable and twisted reports and court testimony when the truth threatened to undermine their cases, our investigation of the SBI's work, policies and practices reveals.
gallery Inside the SBI lab
gallery Floyd Brown: Held 17 years for a murder he didn't commit
video Agents' Secrets: A confession doesn't add up
Agents' Secrets: Day Two: Attorney General Roy Cooper suspended the unit that handles bloodstain pattern analysis, which hid results and ran bizarre experiments.
gallery Inside the SBI lab
gallery Floyd Brown: Held 17 years for a murder he didn't commit
video Agents' Secrets-Junk Science
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