Laci Peterson

The trial against her husband accused of the crime began today, and I'm rather hoping the public doesn't pay far more attention to it than more pressing issues (efforts to rescind at least parts of the Patriot Act, the motivations behind why we went to Iraq and why we handle the country the way they do, the nastiness of this campaign (see another post reporting the strong negativity pushed by the Bush campaign, and so on).

Yes, her death and that of her unborn child were a shame. Yes, her husband was at best a creep for having another woman on the side (although the other woman's penchant for having out-of-wedlock kids with other men, others married, too, hardly makes me weep for her as a victim), but a creep isn't necessarily a murderer. Hopefully, the trial will find the right answer to whether or not her husband is guilty.

But this trial is nothing more than another distraction. Unfortunately, she and her baby are dead and no amount of gaping at the trial will change that.