SCOTT PETERSON DEATH SENTENCE JUROR IS NOW HIS PEN PAL.

Richelle Nice, one of the jurors who convicted Scott Peterson of murder and later recommended to a judge that he receive the death penalty, has now, oddly enough, become the man's jailhouse pen pal. In an exclusive interview with People Magazine, Richelle says that she first wrote Scott a letter at the suggestion of her therapist. Although, it must be noted that the therapist told her to write a letter, but put it in a mailbox with no address written on the envelope. For some reason, Richelle decided to go a step further and found Scott's address and mailed it off to him in prison. Richelle has sent 17 letters to Scott so far and he has written her back 8 times. She swears she is not in love with him but claims she is writing him "in hopes that he'll eventually confess to the murder of his wife." So far, she says Scott hasn't even come close to admitting guilt and still maintains his innocence.

Richelle claims she doesn't talk about her pen pal relationship with Peterson much and that most of her friends don't approve of what she is doing. When asked why she decided to give the letters to People, Richelle says she was "scared they'd be leaked out somehow." Hmmmm ... I also wonder if the girl got paid by People for these letters? Nice therapy, huh? Yes, Scott Peterson did get convicted for the murder of his wife and unborn child, a conviction most of us agree with. But there is a part in the People interview about this juror that I found extremely disturbing. The magazine states, "In December ('05), after years of mental health issues, Richelle suffered a major breakdown and was admitted into San Mateo Medical Center's psychiatric ward. She's currently on a battery of medications for her psychiatric problems. "All my life has been a struggle," she says."

"After years of mental health issues???" And this woman made it onto the jury for a death penalty case? *shudder*

Update: I also found this interesting tid bit about how this cucko bird is involved in writing a book with the other jurors about the trial called "We The Jury." From the New York Daily News: "People's article does not mention Nice's involvement in a book deal, nor does it mention that one of the magazine's own staffers is authoring the jurors' tome. "There were only so many elements we could include" in the story, the magazine said."
Ugh. Tacky People Magazine! Tacky!