Peterson wants out of house arrest

Durham novelist and one-time mayoral candidate Mike Peterson says he should be allowed free rein while awaiting a new trial in the death of his wife.

Peterson was convicted of first-degree murder in the Dec. 9, 2001, death of his wife. Kathleen Peterson was found dead in a pool of blood at the bottom of a staircase in the couple's upscale Durham home.

Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson ruled last December that a key prosecution witness in Peterson's 2003 murder trial gave false and misleading testimony, and he ordered Peterson released on a $300,000 bond pending a retrial.

Two conditions of his bond were that Peterson be under house arrest in Durham and remain on electronic monitoring. He recently filed a motion seeking release from those conditions.

Peterson argued that he has never violated a condition of his bond – either before his 2003 trial or since his release last winter. Also, he said, he suffers from a "physical condition" that makes it painful to wear the monitoring bracelet on his ankle.

Prosecutors have appealed Hudson's ruling, and no date has been set for the retrial.