2002

Scott Peterson was convicted of murdering his pregnant wife Laci Peterson and their unborn son Conner in December 2002 after their bodies washed ashore in San Francisco Bay.

The D.C. Sniper Attacks were a serial shooting spree in October 2002 that killed 10 people across the Washington D.C. area, committed by John Allen Muhammad and 17-year-old Lee Boyd Malvo.

When the United States opened Guantánamo Bay detention camp in 2002, it became the site of documented torture affecting approximately 780 men and boys from 48 countries. Over two decades later, verified interrogation techniques including waterboarding, sleep deprivation, and sexual assault remain central to understanding post-9/11 American detention practices.