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| On The O'Reilly Factor...
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| All content taken from The O'Reilly Factor on Fox News Channel. Each weeknight by 6 PM EST a preview of that evening's show will be posted and then updated with additional information the following weekday by noon EST.
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| "The jury has spoken; Scott Peterson has been sentenced to death. The media have gone wild over this case because Laci Peterson was just a regular American. There was no reason for Laci to die other than the evil her husband brought into the house. And that's pretty much what the jury said. No question the jury hated Scott Peterson--there was nothing to respect about the man, and the fact that he didn't even testify in his own behalf was telling. The jury felt he had no excuse for his crime, and needed to be removed from the Earth. When a young pregnant woman washes up headless, when an unborn baby never sees life, most juries will be unforgiving." |
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Guests: Fox News senior judicial analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano, journalist Aphrodite Jones, Fox News analysts Lis Wiehl & Stan Goldman
Fox News analyst Andrew Napolitano and journalist Aphrodite Jones provided their perspective on the Peterson case. "Emotion was the single most compelling factor here," Judge Napolitano said. "Jurors are instructed at the outset that emotion, hatred, sympathy are to have nothing to do with their ruling, but those are all normal human emotions." Jones said the emotion also extended outside the courtroom. "There were over a thousand people here," Jones reported. "Many of them wanted the verdict to be death. And it was a mentality I shared. There were few people I wanted to see die, but I felt Scott Peterson deserved the ultimate punishment."
Fox News analysts Lis Wiehl and Stan Goldman also covered the case. "I think this jury came to this decision slowly," Wiehl stated. "They started out perhaps hoping Peterson was innocent. But as the evidence came in, it fermented their hatred for the man who they came to believe had done the killing. And when Laci's mother testified, it took them over the line to the death sentence." Goldman maintained Peterson should have begged for his life. "I think defense lawyer Mark Geragos is probably regretting the fact that he did not put Peterson on the stand ... the jury might have identified with him." The Factor agreed, saying "I think the only chance he had for acquittal and to save his life was to take the stand." |
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Guest: Fox News correspondent Jonathan Hunt
According to new allegations, fugitive financier Marc Rich--pardoned by Bill Clinton on his last day in office--may have helped Saddam Hussein by brokering major oil deals. Fox News correspondent Jonathan Hunt has been investigating the story. "It appears that immediately after his pardon," Hunt said, "is when Marc Rich went back to doing these shady deals. It is alleged that Rich could have been the middleman between Saddam and people he was bribing with oil. There is nothing proven here, and it is going to be hard to prove. This was a very murky scheme." |
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Guest: Congressman Dennis Kucinich
President Bush and Congressman Dennis Kucinich strongly disagree about most political matters. But both feel Secretary General Kofi Annan should keep his job at the United Nations, despite the growing oil-for-food scandal. "When you're talking about Iraq and oil," Kucinich said, "you're talking about a mess, no matter who is in charge of the UN. You can't charge Kofi Annan with that." Moving to the current struggle for leadership of the Democratic National Committee, Kucinich declared that he doesn't care who leads the party. "What's important is what our party stands for. The party should stand for full employment, for protecting social security, for health care for all. And then we can win elections." |
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Guest: Dr. Steve Adubato, crisis communications counselor
Bernard Kerik has withdrawn his nomination as Secretary of Homeland Security, but rumors and allegations continue. Journalist and crisis expert Steve Adubato maintained that the rules of the game have changed. "If you get nominated by the President, you can expect every conceivable, potentially embarrassing tidbit of your life to be revealed. That's the environment, and it's going to get worse. Bernie should have realized it." The Factor lamented the "gotcha" atmosphere that reigns in the media: "Anyone going for a high government position is going to get smeared and slimed unless they're a perfect person. This is why the country doesn't have the leadership it should have, because good people are saying they're not going to go through this." |
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