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 […]
Miscarriage of Justice
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 […]
DNA: a civil right?
The Houston Chronicle has an interesting article related on DNA as related to the Skinner case. It discusses that the United States Supreme Court (USSC) must consider if inmates’ requests for DNA testing can be handled as civil rights claims — a question that has split the nation’s top federal courts. The USSC on Thursday […]
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 […]
DNA lab offers help in Hank Skinner case
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals may be indifferent to the truth in the Hank Skinner case (focusing only on procedural questions), but Chromosomal Laboratories in Phoenix, Arizona, isn’t. In response to a plea by the Innocence Project, Chromosomal Laboratories in Phoenix, Arizona has offered its accredited DNA testing services to help pursue justice. The […]
William Thomas Zeigler
As mentioned before on DCC and on Twitter, I am currently taking another look into the case of Mr. William Thomas Zeigler, on death row in Florida, USA. His case has such a complexity that it is absolutely impossible to cover the entire case in one average-sized post. The other option is to write a […]
Testimony in Henry Skinner Case
Two women with critical testimony about Twila’s uncle Robert Donnell. First, Mrs. Ellis testimony has never been investigated. Within days of the murders, Robert Donnell dismantled his vehicle to give it an almost fanatically thorough cleaning. Shortly after the murders Ms. Ellis saw Donnell, on a cold day, stripping the interior of his truck down to […]
Which Brian Parsons murdered Ivy Batten?
Which Brian Parsons is responsible for the death of Mrs. Ivy Batten? It is a story of mistaken identity, of mishandling evidence, prosecutorial misconduct, and the fight to get someone to listen to you. Lucky for Brian David Parsons, reporters Neil Young and Aislinn Simpson were listening. These reporters have re-investigated this controversial case. Brian David […]
Arson Case Not on Agenda
Arson Case Not on Agenda as Texas Panel Reconvenes: the Innocence Project Online reports that after a long hiatus and months of national controversy, the Texas Forensic Science Commission will meet on Friday January 29, but the controversial case of Cameron Todd Willingham is not on the agenda. New commission chair John Bradley said he […]
Who really killed Mrs. Bernice Martin?
On March 8, 1987, fire fighters were called to the Mayfair Gardens Elderly Housing Complex, Manchester, Connecticut. They found Mrs. Bernice Martin, 88 years old, barely breathing, and badly beaten. She died later that evening in the hospital. To many the case is closed. Convicted for her murder is her granddaughter’s former husband, Richard A. […]