Michael Peterson (criminal)

Michael Iver Peterson (born October 23, 1943) is an American novelist who was convicted in 2003 of murdering his second wife, Kathleen Peterson, on December 9, 2001. In 2011, after eight years in prison, Peterson was released from prison after being granted a new trial. In a review of an appeal, the judge had ruled that a critical prosecution witness in the first trial gave misleading testimony. Peterson was out on bail and under house arrest while awaiting a new trial.

In 2017, Peterson submitted an Alford plea to the reduced charge of voluntary manslaughter. He was sentenced to time already served and freed.

Peterson's case attracted the attention of a French documentary team interested in American justice. Soon after his arrest, Peterson gave them access, including interviews with him and his family, the defense attorney, and others. The team had originally planned a film but, given the complexity of the material, expanded their work into a documentary miniseries The Staircase (2004), aired on French TV.

The team started filming soon after Peterson's arrest in 2001, and followed the case through the trial and imprisonment. They continued filming through his appeal and Peterson's eventual Alford plea in 2017. After that they released a sequel to their first work that explored the following years.

In 2019, Peterson wrote an account of his life since his wife's death. His independently published memoir is entitled Behind the Staircase.

An American dramatic miniseries was made, also entitled The Staircase (2022). Starring Colin Firth and Toni Collette, it covers the case and its aftermath, including the presence of the documentary team.

Additional documentaries have been produced about Kathleen's death. In addition, podcasts, radio shows and other media have also been created.

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