The Official Scott Pederson's Life/Death Thred

[KwikR6]

So how long do we think he's going to last???

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Scott Peterson is now one of the most recognizable men in the United States, and that is not expected to change when he gets to prison. Many inmates already know who he is. And in conversations with KCRA 3's Edie Lambert Wednesday, some said he will face their system of justice if he ends up anywhere near them.

The prosecutors who argued that Peterson is guilty of murder said his motivation was freedom from responsibility. Now a convicted murderer, Peterson will never be free again unless he can successfully appeal.

Some inmates at the California State Prison in Sacramento have definite opinions about Peterson's future.

"Scott Peterson needs a bullet in the head. Scott Peterson needs a bullet in the head," said inmate "Lieutenant."

"Somebody is going to start tripping off of him, and he's going to wind up with some steel in him," said inmate Aaron "J-Dog" Burris. "He's going to die. He killed a baby. Yeah, he killed a little kid, you know, that's something in here, even though we're all criminals, this and that, you don't touch no kids."

"Guys like that wouldn't last here. Anything could happen," said inmate Marcus Cotton.

And for that reason, while state prisons are designed to protect citizens from criminals, they are also set up to protect some criminals from each other. If Peterson is sentenced to life in prison, he would be locked up in a maximum-security prison. But his notoriety likely means he'll be considered a special-needs inmate, which protects him from the general prison population.

Burris thinks Peterson would be safer as a special-needs inmate.

"He'd be all right. It's kick back time," Burris said.

The cells in the special-needs section are the same as the rest of the prison -- small, dark and shared by two men.

Inmates spend as many as 21 hours a day in the cells with a few perks like TV and snack food, if they can afford it. Most inmates have low-paying prison jobs.

Prison officials say life for a man who wanted his freedom will not be easy, but they will make sure it's at least safe.

"I'm confident the department has the means to protect him from others as we employ every day here," Schroeder said.

There is already a high-profile inmate currently serving time at Sacramento Prison -- Eric Menendez. He and his brother were convicted of killing their millionaire parents.

Prison officials said that Menendez got in some trouble, so he's now in lockdown and facing a transfer.

Regardless of Peterson's sentence, he will first report to San Quentin Prison.