The United States Supreme Court Justices put off a decision in the Hank Skinner case. It is from Texas, a state that executes more prisoners per year than any other state. Hank Skinner made an actual innocence claim, demanding DNA testing on other evidence gathered at the crime scene. The justices had issued a stay just before […]
Miscarriages of Justice
Riley Fox: still unsolved
An appeals court agreed with a federal jury’s 2007 finding that Will County Police framed Kevin Fox for the rape and murder of his 3-year-old daughter Riley Fox, but reduced the damages awarded to Fox and his wife from $12.2 million to $8 million. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals chastised the investigators on the […]
Zeigler, Part VI
Zeigler, Part VI: On Preliminary Crime Scene Approach & Investigation Orange County Sheriff’s Office Detective Donald Frye was on duty in the Crime against Persons Section. After investigating the crime scene, he concluded that these four people did not die at the same time. With that, I agree. According to Frye, Mays had been shot […]
Zeigler, Part V
Zeigler, Part V: The Bodies Mr. Charlie Mays was savagely beaten, his face disfigured with blood coming through his skull, and he had been shot twice in the abdomen (once from the front and once from the back). Judging from the blood splatters, Mays had been beaten to death where he was found. The killer […]
Zeigler, Part IV
On March 12, 1976, Robert Eagan, then state attorney, wrote to Mayor Marvin Peele, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, and the Orange County Court House, that he is very concerned about the way the evidence in the Zeigler case is being handled. The entire letter is here: In Dec 1975, a quadruple murder took place […]
Hawley Harvey Crippen
I enjoyed reading Crippen by John Boyne about of course, Hawley Harvey Crippen. On October 18, 1910, almost 100 years ago, the murder trial of Dr. Hawley Harvey Crippen started at the Old Bailey, UK. It gripped the public, as had his flight with his mistress who was dressed as a boy, and the police chase across the […]
The order to stay the Skinner execution
(ORDER LIST: 559 U.S.) WEDNESDAY, MARCH 24, 2010 ORDER IN PENDING CASE 09-9000 SKINNER, HENRY W. V. SWITZER, LYNN (O9A743) “The application for stay of execution of sentence of death presented to Justice Scalia and by him referred to the Court is granted pending disposition of the petition for a writ of certiorari. Should the […]
Zeigler, Part III
The Unusual Crime Scene, Zeigler (part 3): Despite that this large, dark furniture store was a crime scene with multiple bodies inside, police did not hesitate to enter it several times. Orange County Sheriff’s Office deputies and other officers violated basic rules of procedure by entering a dark crime scene knowing they will disturb evidence. […]
Execution halted for Hank Skinner!
The U.S. Supreme Court stopped the Hank Skinner execution about an hour before he could have been taken to the Texas death chamber. The brief order grants him the delay but does not ensure he will get such testing. The court order came as relatives of Busby were climbing the steps of the Huntsville prison […]
Tommy Zeigler, Part II
Tommy Zeigler is a quiet man, in control of his emotions, not wearing his heart on his sleeve and to most, he comes across as reserved. Very reserved. He used to be politically active behind the scenes in his hometown of Winter Garden, Florida. He had once led a successful drive to unseat a longtime […]