Emotional Tug-Of-War At Laci Trial

Friends and family spoke glowingly of convicted murderer Scott Peterson as they recalled his teenage years for an apparently unmoved jury Friday. In a half-day of testimony, elderly parents of a childhood friend of Scott Peterson took the stand, as did his half brother, Joe.

Perhaps the most important defense message for the jurors, according to CBS's Manuel Gallegus: Even in prison, Peterson would still make a contribution as a mentor.

Peterson's half-brother told how much Scott and he loved fishing. He said Scott always liked being on the water, which invoked irony, because Scott is convicted partially on the basis of his fishing in the San Francisco bay, and his dead wife's body being found in the water.

Earlier, a page from Peterson's eighth-grade yearbook was projected in court showing the defendant was voted "the friendliest student" in his class.

Also, his friend Aaron Fritz testified about the "generous, compassionate, thoughtful man" he went to high school with. He said Peterson volunteered at an orphanage as a teenager.

Defense attorneys are trying to persuade jurors to spare Peterson's life with testimony about his childhood years and how a death sentence would affect his family members' lives. Peterson's father testified Wednesday.

Whether this is having any impact on the jury is unclear, reports CBS News Correspondent Steve Futterman. The jurors have shown virtually no reaction.

"The fact that he worked in an orphanage or taught a kid when he was 15-years-old, doesn't do much to rebut the fact that he murdered his pregnant wife and dumped her in the bay," said former prosecutor Jim Hammer.

On Thursday, Scott Peterson's half brother, John, told jurors how excited he was when his little brother was born, and how he later taught Scott to ride a bike and build backyard forts.

He said it would devastate him if Scott Peterson was sentenced to die.

"I can't even imagine ... he's my little brother. I love him," John Peterson said.

Fritz said he met Scott Peterson about 17 years ago when he moved from Indiana to San Diego to begin high school and joined the golf team.

"I think he realized I was new to the area and new to the school ... He was very gracious and very welcoming and always invited me to have lunch with his friends and just kind of made me feel welcome," Fritz said.

"Quite frankly, in the emotional tug-of-war that is going on, I don't think what we've heard over the past two days comes anywhere close to the impact of what was heard from the Rocha family," Laci Peterson's family, said former prosecutor Chuck Smith.

Laci Peterson's family packed several rows in the gallery for most of the trial, but only her brother was in the courtroom Thursday.

Prosecutors rested their case Tuesday. The defense case is expected to last into next week and cap with testimony from Scott's mother before jurors begin deliberations.