DOTHAN
Petersen was convicted in the three-week Teasers Hard Rock Cabaret murder trial — the longest in county history — but fewer than half of the seated jurors were women. His current defense team argues that if more women had served, Petersen may have received life without parole instead of a death sentence. The Alabama attorney general’s office opposes a new trial. Judge Derrick has ordered both sides to submit briefs by January 15.
At the center of the dispute is a recording in which Valeska comments that he did not want an all-female jury. Defense attorneys say that remark, combined with the pattern of peremptory strikes, shows women were removed because of their sex. If the court agrees, it could order a new trial or a new sentencing hearing.
The court is also weighing claims that Petersen’s original lawyers, Ben Freeman and Christopher Capps, were ineffective. Both men testified Monday, insisting their performance met professional standards.
Judge Derrick will apply two main legal standards: whether the prosecutor’s jury strikes were based on gender and whether trial counsel’s performance fell below constitutional requirements under Strickland v. Washington. His decision will determine whether Petersen receives a new trial or whether the conviction and death sentence stand.
Both sides will file written arguments by the January deadline, after which Judge Derrick will issue a ruling that could either reopen one of the county’s most notable cases or leave the original verdict in place.
