We the Jury: Deciding the Scott Peterson Case

by Frank Swertlow, Lyndon Stambler, Greg Beratlis

In "We, the Jury," the jurors in the Scott Peterson case tell, for the first time, what life was like at the center of this sensational murder trial.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Crime, Memoir

264 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Tara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book took me two months to read .... not because it was bad, but because I just couldn't read a lot of it at a time. I had to read it in spurts here and there. I followed this case like a hawk. I was obsessed. Never missed a night of Nancy Grace. Caught as much trial coverage as I could. Obsessed ... totally. And now that I'm a mother, someone who has been pregnant twice, this case hits me harder than ever. Two times I have been 8 months pregnant. Both times I made it another month and walked away with beautiful, healthy babies. Laci never got that. Her life was tragically taken at 8 months pregnant. I can't even begin to imagine. And to have your life taken by the one person you're supposed to love and trust the most?! Inconceivable. I can't imagine what it was really like to sit on that jury day in and day out. To see those awful autopsy photographs. To watch that smug man on trial with his smirks and blank stares. To have to decide whether that man should live or die for his actions. It's not something I would ever want to have to go through. And this book really gives you a great insight into what they went through. Books detailing various criminal cases are a dime a dozen. But a book like this - written from the perspective of the actual jurors.... it's an eye-opening and enthralling read. I'd definitely recommend it.

[riley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really enjoyed the perspective of these jurors. I wasn’t too familiar with this case before this book. The jurors take us through the thought process during deliberations and the trauma that they go through after the deliberations, living with the images they saw and the decision they had to make. The book was a bit repetitive and could have been written better, but I enjoyed the thoughtfulness behind it.

[Diane Folks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always thought it would be fascinating to be on a high profile trial. This book shows that it's not as glamorous as it looks on "Law and Order". The emotional toll is awful and there are no resources to help jurors deal with the post-traumatic stress they suffer later. A very interesting look at our judicial system!

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I struggled about what to rate this, but finally gave it a 2 (2.5) because it was ridiculously repetitive, the writing was poor, there were misspellings galore, and a few times there was some misinformation about the case. It still has its interesting parts, and is worth reading if you are interested in the case. I feel the whole story could have been told in 150 pages or less. 2.5⭐️

[Tricia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book provided a peek behind the courtroom’s curtains. It brought back all the emotions I remember feeling being 8.5 months pregnant when Laci went missing. Having followed the media and reports during the trial, I appreciated the idea of a book detailing what the individuals went through when deciding that man’s fate. Good read if you have ever wondered what it must take to decide life or death for someone that was convicted of murder. As interesting as this book was to read, the repetitiveness was so very hard to look past. I would have loved to give this book more stars, but explaining the same thing over and over again annoyed me. I can only imagine how many times the jurors felt the same having to hear the phrase “all American guy” or “all American family” for 5 months straight.

[Julio Bonilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why did Scott do it? Freedom! He wanted to live a single Playboy like lifestyle. Paying an ex-wife spousal support and child support would have created a bit of a problem for him.

In 2004, twelve jurors in Redwood City had to decide whether Scott Peterson was guilty of killing his eight-and-a-half-month pregnant wife. This is the story from their perspective.
Originally, I bought this book back when I was in college after hearing on the news about a husband from Modesto who killed his wife. Now that I've reread it, I understand the situation more: Scott killed his pregnant wife to set himself free from all responsibilities.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book written by jurors from the Scott Peterson trial. They gave explanations as to what evidence influenced their decision and what didn't. It was interesting to hear what went on in the jury room and the minds of the jurors as they were deciding one of the most famous men in the country at this time. Famous for killing his very pregnant wife on Christmas Eve. A most heinous crime. Leaves little doubt as to what did or did not influence this jury to make their decision. A very interesting read.

[Ebster Davis]

I was expecting this to be written with the 'voice' of the individual jurors, but it reads more like an interview where the jurors seem to be responding to topics the narrator is presenting.

That being the case, I think it would have been interesting if the format was styled like a conversation. I think it would have made certain sections a little less repetitive and could have made their group dynamic a little more accessible.

I did really enjoy learning more about the case. I remember what a scandal it was when I when I was a kid and this humanized it for me a bit.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy read but poorly written. Jumps around a lot yet also repetitive. It claims the jurors as authors but it reads more like the jurors participated in interviews and the two professional writers just used their quotes. Nevertheless, I did appreciate the behind the scenes look into what the jurors were thinking. Unless you are really big into law/trials or this specific case, you can skip this book.

[Sierra S · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars.
Holy repetitive. There were times I could have sworn my 1 year old was hitting the back button, forcing me to re-listen to 30 second segments. She wasn’t. And it was so frequent. Large chunks of information repeated verbatim.

There was some interesting recounting of the jurors experiences, but I expected more. I’m very interested in what happens in jury deliberations, this did very little to satisfy.

[Jonathan · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was difficult to keep in my hands. At moments I wanted to light it on fire. These jurors had no evidence what so ever to convict Scott and they did anyways. Your own emotional feelings isn't evidence.

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ended up quitting because it just couldn’t keep my attention.

[Kayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have never been on a jury and would find it very interesting to be an impartial person determining the guilt or innocence of someone. I feel invested in this case.

[Alina Hakobyan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book had some interesting facts but I ended up skipping through almost %50 of it as it went on about jurors personal lives which I wasn't interested in.

[ananasparachute · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read a few books on the Peterson case, and give this one a resounding "meh". I feel neutral about it, it wasn't good or bad.

[Dawn Jayne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book I never considered reading. In fact, I didn't even know this book existed until I found a copy in the waiting room at a local hospital. Someone had left it and I was in for a very long wait, so boredom inspired me to start reading.

As it turned out, this book was a fast read. The trial was more than ten years past, but I was astounded at how everything came back to me so easily. I'm not a true crime junkie - at least, I never thought of myself as one - so I was a little stunned at how many of the names and events were so clear in my head.

The book had very little in regard to details of the crime and trial - nothing that hadn't been repeated over and over on every news channel. The focus of this is on the jurors, seven of them, and their experiences with a long and tedious high-profile case. I'm the type of person who seeks the 'why' behind actions, so this appealed to me.

I still have unease the book and had it not been free, I wouldn't have cracked the cover. True crime stories leave me suspicious of the motives, wondering if an author might be using a horrible tragedy for personal gain. Despite my reservations, I gave it a go and found I didn't hate the book as much as I expected.

True crime buffs, or those who followed the Peterson trial, might enjoy the different perspective. Personally, I was was most interested in the inner workings of the jury and their deliberation process.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a sad, sad thing. I have read three other books on the Scott and Laci story. I guess it is so interesting to me for two reasons, first because I was roughly the same age as Laci when she died and I had just had my first child only six months before her death and I could relate to her situation in that way. Second because I guess it just is so chilling the kind of person who is so distinctly different from what they seem. I think it is one thing to see someone who has had a violent past and then commits a crime of passion where they kill their spouse on accident but it is another thing entirely to find someone who methodically plans his wifes murder, carries it out and callously continues a relationship with his mistress in the meantime. I just cannot fathom that kind of person. He is literally the most dangerous and scary time of personality out there.
In my mind, he represents the most evil of evils. I think after this book though I will give it a rest - it showed just how disturbing this was to those close to it - even more so than the book written by laci's mother.

The authors did kind of a crummy job in my opinion. They wer SO repetitive. They also cited one jurer about 10 times more than any other. It just wasn't well outlined, thought out, or executed.

[Kathleen Hagen]

We, the Jury, written by seven of the jurors. Produced by Phoenix
Audio, downloaded from audible.com. . B-minus.
This was my first introduction to Phoenix Audio, and I don’t think this company is as professional as others. Maybe they’re just new. The book itself also was not well written. It was a collection of memories of seven of the jury members about the trial and what led them to convict Scott Peterson and also sentence him to death. It was a very loosely connected book and suffered from no over-all editor. It was interesting to learn that the jurors spent several months first in trial and then in deliberations. The jury had to begin deliberating again three different times as two jurors were dismissed for various reasons during the deliberation process and replaced by alternates. But this jury behaved the way we would hope juries would behave. They took their duties seriously. Mostly, they convicted Peterson because of his demeanor throughout the trial, because of the horrifying pictures of the bodies of Lacey and the baby, and because of their growing dislike for the arrogant defense lawyer. An interesting jury study but not a well-written book.

[april lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting look....

I recall this case from several years ago. A beautiful suburban mom-to-be goes missing right before Christmas, a husband claiming to have gone fishing so close to the time when his wife was close to delivering their first child. He comes home to an empty house and calls his mother-in-law and calmly and callously utters, "Laci's missing". The country was enthralled with this story and watched in horror as the remains of Laci and baby Conner washed ashore, ultimately ending in a trial where Scott Peterson was sentenced to death. This book takes readers behind the scenes and gives us an in-depth look into the lives of the jurors as they sat through months of hearing evidence and testimony of key players players. It is a true attestation of how their lives were changed forever after having served on this jury. It certainly gives a different perspective of the sacrifice everyday citizens make when performing their civic duty and how the wheels of justice turns. Excellent read!

[Glennis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the jury's recounting of how they arrived at their verdict and the valiant battle they waged to protect the hearing procedures in order to minimize chances the verdict could be overturned on appeal or declared a mistrial. Poignant behind the scenes disclosure of the impact a trial such as this has on the jury, during and after the verdict and sentence are rendered.
I am grateful they took on this responsibility with the depth of soul they did.

[Trish Hopkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book as part of my forensic science research. However, I think this is a great book for anyone who followed the Scott Peterson trial or wants to know how Laci Rocha and her baby Conner finally received a measure of justice at the hands of some very dedicated jurors. The grammar and writing style are not where I wish they were (being a writer, I am hard to please), but the issues did not distract from the exciting content. I recommend it to trial watchers as well.

[Dayna · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book gives tireless detail of what the jury experienced during the Scott Peterson trial.

As interested as I am in this case, it was hard to get through this book - there was so much detail about every action of the jurors and the writing was only so-so. I feel like this book was rushed to print and not edited as well as it could have been.

[Jennifer Roberts · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not very interesting

Not really any new information in this book. I do feel badly for the jurors because obviously it was a difficult time for them. I noticed several errors such as, Laci disappeared Dec 2004 instead of 2002. I don't know if it was because it was the kindle version but there really wasn't a separation of chapters and some paragraphs were highlighted.

[Brooke Haynes Gallucci · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was very eye-opening in the sens that even the jury suffers from a horrible crime. I felt such empathy for all of them. This was not a salicious tabloid money-maker. It was written to remind us of our civic duty and how that can be unfair to the jury most of all.

[Ronda · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very in depth look at what sacrifices long sequestered jurors and their families endure as well as the emotional, financial and personal struggles. A very well written insight in to the lives of the Jurors of the Scott Peterson Murder Trial

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book offers a glimpse into what it is like to serve as a juror on a high profile case. I enjoyed the insight offered, but it seemed to jump around a bit. It was still a good read and I would recommend it to anyone interested in the legal system.

[Erica · Rating 3 out of 5]

As an attorney with aspirations of working in criminal prosecution, this tory was pretty interesting. It is a true story obviously and comes from the viewpoint of the jurors and what helped them make their decision.

[Madonna Analla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely interesting book!! And not just because of the details of the case but it's also an inside look on what it's like to be on a high profile jury. Very intense, very emotional, and the potential for PTSD. I definitely recommend this book.

[Johann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very interesting to me, I never thought about what the jury goes through after these trials. I feel bad for them because those images and details will haunt them forever. They are expected to move on, it's so sad.

[Judy Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book mostly about the jurors and what they went thorough. I know it was a terrible experience to convict somebody of murder. Scoot Peterson showed no sign of guilt or if he did kill his wife and baby Connor. That just horrible.