My coworker and I drove five minutes to downtown Redwood City at lunch time for Peterson pandomonium. Hundreds of people were out there gawking and waiting for the verdict. There had to be about two hundred reporters and photogs. It was nuts. We got there right about 1 and people were just milling around in the street. One woman had brought a portable tv and all the photogs were crowded around her taking pics.
At about 1:15 the crowd right in front of the courthouse erupted in cheers, as if we were at a ball game and someone had hit a home run. Everyone was talking into their cell phone. The word of the verdict(s) spread across the crowd: "First degree for Laci, second for the baby!" One guy had a sign that said "Finally, peace and justice for Laci and Connor." (The back of the sign, incidentally, was a pro-Bush placard!) Additional cheers went up as people left the main doors of the courthouse. As far as I could tell, the cheering was just for TV anchors.
Most of the reporters were doing man-on-the-street interviews. Three helicopters hovered over downtown. There were cops everywhere. I've never seen anything like it in my life.
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