REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — Scott Peterson's high-school golf coach and his sixth-grade principal were among 14 witnesses to testify Monday as his defense team continued its effort to persuade a jury the convicted killer does not deserve the death penalty.

"He was one of the finest young men that I coached," David Thoennes told the six men and six women who are expected to begin deliberating Peterson's fate later this week. "I never saw Scott lose his temper," said Thoennes, who coached the golf team at Peterson's Catholic high school in San Diego.

"If he hit a bad shot, he went on and played the next one ... I never saw him throw a club, yell, scream."

Retired principal Ronald Rowe showed jurors a middle-school yearbook photo of Peterson wearing a striped jersey and a toothy smile. During their brief contact, he said, the boy was "a fine school citizen."

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"Nothing that I could envision then or now would suggest to me that the death penalty is appropriate for him," Rowe said.

The witnesses testified in rapid succession, with all 14 completing their turns on the stand in about three hours. Some, such as a cousin, spent less than five minutes in the witness box. Their contact with Peterson ranged from lifelong relationships, as in the case of two uncles, to brief windows of time, as in the case of a high-school administrator and a college roommate.

In addition to recounting memories of Peterson and what they said were his positive attributes, most of the witnesses also told jurors that they believed he was innocent.

"I do not believe Scott is guilty of this crime," said Sandra Bertran, who worked with Peterson at a golf pro shop when he was a teenager.

"I don't believe he could have done this," she added.

His maternal uncle, Robert Latham, said the conviction was an error and warned the panel that imposing the ultimate punishment would haunt them. "I wouldn't want that mistake to be on other people," he said.

Jurors are permitted to consider any lingering doubt they have about Peterson's guilt as they decide whether life in prison without parole or death is the appropriate punishment for killing his wife, Laci, and unborn son in 2002.

Several of the witnesses spoke about the impact of a capital sentence on Peterson's parents, Lee and Jackie.

"It would be the death of our family," a cousin, Kelly Beckton, said, choking back tears.

Both Robert Latham and another of Jackie Peterson's brothers, John Latham, described their own troubled childhood. Their father was murdered when Peterson's mother was an infant and their mother became ill and placed her children in an orphanage.

A death sentence would be more than his sister could bear, John Latham said. "It would tear our family apart," he said.

Peterson appeared touched by the glowing character testimony. When the final witness — a co-worker named Julie Galloway who called him "the most generous man I ever met" —stepped down from the stand, the 32-year-old defendant wiped tears from his flushed face.

Many of the men and women who will determine his future did not appear moved by the testimony. As the witnesses described Peterson's good qualities, some stared at the ceiling, while others glanced around the courtroom gallery.

One panelist, Juror No. 8, smirked as Carrie Archer, the wife of Peterson's college roommate, called the defendant "the type of person you wanted to be more like."

The jurors can consider good deeds and charity works throughout Peterson's life as they decide whether to recommend a death sentence. Galloway, who met Peterson in 1992 when they both worked at a restaurant, said it was his reverent treatment of his mother that led her to reconcile with her own estranged mother.

She also said he encouraged her to end a bad relationship and set her up with the man who became her husband. "He helped me make some proper decisions and better choices," she said.

His college roommate, Bill Archer, lost his composure repeatedly as he recalled "the million little things" Peterson did for him. Looking toward Peterson at the defense table, Archer, now a financial advisor and father said, "This is an awful situation and I can't imagine what's going on with the families and how hard it would be."

Wiping away a tear, he added, "I can't put myself in a comparative situation. I just know if I called him, he would have agreed in a heartbeat."

Marvin Threatt, a dean at Peterson's high school, told jurors that the defendant regularly visited a Mexican orphanage to fulfill the school's "Christian service" requirement and then did extra volunteer work with the mentally retarded.

"He was punctual, he was reliable, he was responsible," Threatt said.

His uncles and cousins recalled him as a quiet yet generous child who grew into a kind young man. Leeta Latham remembered how he shared his toys and taught her to catch crayfish without being bitten. Peterson, she said, "is very much the man I hope my son becomes."

Another cousin, Rachel Latham, called him "someone to look up to" and told jurors he went out of his way to befriend her when she lived with his parents. "He used to come to my soccer games. Laci would as well," she said.

The slain mother-to-be's name came up several times in testimony Monday. "She was just so full of life," said Peterson's cousin, Abraham Latham. He remembered the first time Peterson introduced him to her. "He met the love of his life and it was written on both of their faces," he said.

As Latham uttered "love of his life," the jury foreman swiveled in his chair and looked at Laci Peterson's mother, Sharon Rocha, who stared into her lap. Beside her, Laci's half-sister, Amy Rocha, picked at her cuticles.

Prosecutor Dave Harris did not cross-examine any of the witnesses. The prosecution has not questioned any of the 28 defense witnesses to testify thus far.

Judge Alfred Delucchi told jurors 10 more witnesses will testify Tuesday. A few additional witnesses, including Jackie Peterson, are expected to take the stand Wednesday. The judge told jurors they will hear closing arguments that afternoon and begin deliberating Thursday.