Scott Peterson Attacked by Fellow Inmate at California Prison
Scott Peterson, 2022. Photo courtesy of California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitaion, San Quentin State Prison Staff. Public domain.
Convicted killer Scott Peterson, serving a life sentence for the 2002 murder of his pregnant wife Laci Peterson and their unborn son, was attacked by a fellow inmate while playing pickleball at Mule Creek State Prison earlier this month. The assailant, 39-year-old Charles Miles, said the incident wasn't premeditated — but divine.
'There's the Baby Killer!'
The altercation occurred on March 9 during recreational time. According to prison officials, Peterson was retrieving a wayward pickleball when he approached Miles on a nearby path. Miles claimed he believed Peterson was charging at him with a weapon. That "weapon" turned out to be a pickleball paddle.
"Hey! There's the baby killer," Miles said his cellmate exclaimed, triggering what Miles called a "primal urge" to attack. "I beat the hell out of him. I beat him down to the ground," Miles told Court TV.
Prison staff responded with chemical agents and batons to break up the scuffle. Both men sustained minor injuries and were returned to their respective cells, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Miles was issued a serious rule violation.
An Unlikely Conversation
After the fight, Miles and Peterson ended up housed in separate "cages" just two cells apart. With no other inmates nearby, the two men eventually began talking — for two hours.
Miles said Peterson insisted on his innocence during their conversation and claimed he didn't kill Laci and their unborn son, Conner. The conversation, according to Miles, was civil, and they even shook hands afterward.
Still, Miles didn't back down from his initial reaction. "It was God's plan for sure," he told the San Francisco Chronicle. The day before the attack, Miles said he had stopped to pray in that exact spot on the prison track, asking God to use him "as a vessel of your will."
From Infamous Killer to Inmate Confidant
Peterson's case continues to attract attention more than two decades after Laci's disappearance. He was originally sentenced to death in 2004, but that sentence was reduced to life without parole in 2020. In 2022, he was transferred from San Quentin to Mule Creek State Prison.
Peterson maintains his innocence and is now working with the Los Angeles Innocence Project, which argues that key evidence may have been withheld during his original trial — including a blood-spattered van that was allegedly set on fire across the street from the Peterson home.
Miles Hangs up the Gloves
Charles Miles, convicted of a gang-related murder in 2007, is serving a 58-year-to-life sentence but could be eligible for parole as early as 2031. He said the fight with Peterson will be his last. "I'm putting the gloves up," he told the San Francisco Chronicle, adding that he wants to be with his girlfriend and her kids.
Whether divine intervention or prison politics, the bizarre brawl between two convicted murderers left both men bruised — and oddly, talking.
References: Scott Peterson attacked in California prison by fellow murderer: corrections dept | Prisoner who beat up Scott Peterson during pickleball explains: 'It was God's plan for sure' | Inmate who attacked Scott Peterson tells his side of the story
