Zeigler, Part XVI: On misplaced pride, loyalty, and sacrifice On Nov 4, 2010, the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled that Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley (a.k.a. the Memphis Three) will get their cases reviewed in a lower court hearing to see whether they should be granted a new trial. This means that they will […]
Miscarriages of Justice
Zeigler, Part XV
Zeigler, Part XV: “Just testify that you were Zeigler’s homosexual lover and we’ll help you out!” A Florida, Orange County woman in her 80’s, reads an affidavit that she signed alleging that the state tried to get her son to testify that he was William Thomas Zeigler’s homosexual lover. As you know, the state went through great […]
Zeigler gets a new DNA hearing!
Zeigler gets a new DNA hearing! The Orlando Sentinel reports that an Orange Circuit Judge has granted long-time death row inmate Tommy Zeigler an evidentiary hearing more than a year after the man convicted of killing his in-laws, his wife, and another man on Christmas Eve 1975 filed a Petition_and_Proposed_Order[1] in his case. The order granting […]
“It’s not about the conviction or the sentence.”
Sundeep Bhatia’s observation is one I agree with: “But the request to test the DNA evidence is not really about the conviction or sentence. It’s about the evidence and the possibility that it may shed some light on who the real killer is. Skinner hopes it is exculpatory. But it may be inculpatory. Skinner doesn’t know. And that’s […]
NYT Editorial on Skinner and DNA
In my post “DNA: a civil right” of March 26, 2010, I described why I firmly believe that (post-conviction) access to DNA testing for the condemned (in this case Henry Skinner) should not hinge on how formalistic the question to the courts is phrased. It should be implied. Today, the New York Times published an editorial that […]
Stephen Saloom: Texas science panel chairman John Bradley is biased
Stephen Saloom, the policy director of the New York-based Innocence Project, said prosecutor John Bradley shows “a critically important lack of objectivity” in his approach to the case of Cameron Todd Willingham. Bradley has publicly called Willingham a “guilty monster.” Bradley is the chairman of the Texas Forensic Science Commission, which is investigating whether fire […]
Willingham court of inquiry postponed until Oct 14, 2010
The district attorney of Navarro County sought the recusal of state District Judge Charlie Baird in a high-profile court of inquiry that was set to start today to determine whether Cameron Todd Willingham was wrongfully executed by the state of Texas for the deaths of his three daughters. The motion raised the possibility that the two-day hearing […]
“The petition warrants a hearing,” Judge Baird
The inquiry into the Willingham case will be held in his courtroom on Oct. 6-7, but Judge Baird said that it could be extended if necessary. Supporters of Cameron Todd Willingham hailed the Austin district judge’s decision last Monday to open a two-day court of inquiry next month. He will determine whether Willingham was wrongfully convicted and […]
Did a cop murder the Crewes?
Author Ian Wishart has named Detective Sergeant Len Johnston as suspect in the murders of Harvey and Jeannette Crewe. Johnston was a detective who played a pivotal role in the police investigation into their deaths. Johnston passed away in 1978. The accusation has created an uproar amongst those who knew Johnston personally and professionally. It has also sparked a bitter attack […]
Zeigler, Part XIV
After speaking with William Thomas Zeigler’s relatives, more information came out that shows that people have been tampering with the crime scene. When Mr. Zeigler arrived in the hospital for emergency surgery, law enforcement officers contacted the Zeigler family to let them know that he was shot. At that time, nobody yet knew where his wife […]