Peterson Family's Plea To Jury

Friends and family began fighting for Scott Peterson's life today, telling jurors about a loving man they know as a do-gooder not a cold blooded killer.

A day after the mother of Peterson's dead wife Laci attacked the man from the witness stand, defense lawyers presented a much calmer, detailed effort to spare the former fertilizer salesman from a death sentence.

They worked to humanize Peterson and the family that has supported him. He was a good boy, a great student and a fine golfer, they said. He was generous, thoughtful and, very simply, did not deserve to die.

"You don't know who Scott Peterson is, and it's going to be our job to show you," defense lawyer Pat Harris said on the second day of testimony in the penalty phase of Peterson's trial.

"What we're going to now show you is the 30 years that preceded this. And when we show you those 30 years, I believe that you will agree that this is a life worth saving," Harris said.

Lee Peterson said his daughter-in-law's death and the subsequent trial of his son have taken a heavy emotional toll.

"I'm frightened, deeply saddened," he said, looking tired on the witness stand. "Losing someone you love and now having our son in such jeopardy — it's just beyond belief."

As an infant, he said, Scott Peterson became ill with pneumonia and was placed in a plastic chamber — called a croup tent — that controls humidity.

"It was very risky. The doctor said this may not go so well, but he pulled out of it and he lived," Lee Peterson said.

He recalled a toddler who was always smiling, enjoyed playing with trucks and action figures, and liked to snuggle while his father read to him.

His son grew into a good student, and captained his high school golf team and dreamed of a pro golf career, Lee Peterson said. He sang to senior citizens, tutored and gave to the poor in Tijuana.

Lee Peterson described his son as motivated and full of energy: "You wouldn't catch him laying around in bed."

The day's testimony was in stark contrast to Tuesday, when Laci's mother, Sharon Rocha, alternated between tears and outbursts, at times directly addressing her former son-in-law, saying, "She wanted to be a mother. That was taken away from her."

Lee Peterson's testimony was somber, and he conceded that by nature he does not readily show emotion. He and his son exchanged brief glances.

Prosecutors claim Peterson strangled or smothered his pregnant wife in their Modesto home on or around Christmas Eve 2002, then dumped her weighted body into San Francisco Bay. The remains of Laci, 27, and the fetus were discovered four months later along a shoreline a few miles from where Scott Peterson claims to have been fishing alone the day his wife vanished.

The 32-year-old former fertilizer salesman was convicted on one count of first-degree murder in the death of his wife and one count of second-degree murder for the killing of her fetus.

"We're not asking you to let this man go free," said Harris, the defense attorney. "Life without parole is not some sort of a holiday."

Today's testimony contrasted starkly from that heard on Tuesday, when prosecutors presented their case for the death penalty. Jurors heard sometimes heart-rending testimony from Laci Peterson's family.

Scott Peterson simply watched as his former mother-in-law rose out of the witness chair and screamed at him for killing his pregnant wife.

Sharon Rocha, wearing a gold heart-shaped pendent with a picture of her daughter in it, took the stand Tuesday in the penalty phase of Peterson's murder trial. She wrapped up the state's case the same day it began, giving the most emotional testimony of four family members called to the stand.

Through all the months of this trial, Sharon Rocha has come to the courtroom day after day looking for justice for her murdered daughter, reported CBS News Correspondent John Blackstone. Finally, this was the day she could speak from her heart, and speak directly to the man found guilty of killing Laci.

"She wanted to be a mother. That was taken away from her," Rocha said to Peterson, who was convicted Nov. 12 for the 2002 murders of his wife and the 8-month-old fetus she was carrying.

Rocha went on, her voice cracking.

"Divorce was always an option — not murder," Rocha said in a voice so loud that some jurors jumped. There were tears in the eyes of many in the courtroom — jurors, the judge's clerk, the lead detective, even reporters. His mother had her head down and eyes closed and appeared visibly disturbed by what she heard.

At one point, Peterson himself dabbed his eyes with a tissue, when Amy Rocha, Laci's little sister took the stand and recalled how tough holidays without her sister are, and how she looked up to Laci as an older sister.

The first to take the stand was Laci's brother, then her sister, her stepfather, and finally her mother, reported CBS News Correspondent Steve Futterman.

Friends and family will testify, Harris said. A teacher, a former employer and a coworker also will take the stand, he said. A common theme of their testimony, Harris said, would be that Peterson was a generous, selfless person.

"You're going to hear an overall picture," Harris said. "People are going to come here and tell you that he would have done anything you asked for and then some."