The Staircase II: The Last Chance

Michael Peterson was sentenced to life in 2003 after his wife Kathleen was found dead at the bottom of a staircase. This two-part addition covers the years after the trial. An audit is carried out on the laboratory of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, and problems are found in the reports of Duane Deaver, the blood-spatter analyst; Deaver is dismissed in 2011. Peterson's lawyer uses this to seek a new trial. Eight years on, the man is back in a courtroom. Jean-Xavier de Lestrade directs; two hours and ten minutes. It follows on from the 2004 series The Staircase. Among those speaking are Peterson, his lawyer David Rudolf and Kathleen's daughter Caitlin Atwater. The film does not claim Peterson is innocent; it looks at how the evidence was produced.