No penalty verdict in Peterson trial

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – Jurors deciding whether Scott Peterson should live or die for his crimes wrapped up their second day of deliberations Friday without a verdict.

The jury will be sequestered over the weekend in a hotel until deliberations resume Monday.

At about 3:30 p.m. Friday, Judge Alfred A. Delucchi called lawyers for both sides, meeting them in the hallway between his courtroom and his chambers. He could be seen putting a hand on the shoulder of one of the prosecutors as he spoke.

Shortly after, he told a courtroom packed with reporters that the jury had requested to leave early.

Peterson, 32, was convicted Nov. 12 of murder in the deaths of his wife, Laci, and her fetus. Prosecutors say he strangled or smothered his wife on or around Christmas Eve 2002 and dumped the body in the San Francisco Bay. Peterson claims to have been fishing alone that day.

The jury has to decide between life without parole and the death penalty for Peterson.

While sequestered, the jury is not allowed to watch television or read newspapers and cannot discuss the case.