During direct examination on Tuesday, Lapointe’s attorney, Paul Casteleiro, suggested that in his quest for a confession, Detective Morrissey overlooked inconsistencies in Richard’s admission to Morrissey and failed to ask important questions. In his confession, Richard said he had strangled 88-year-old Bernice Martin with his hands, but the medical examiner determined she had been strangled […]
Prosecutorial Misconduct
July 6: Lapointe Habeas hearing
Tomorrow, the Richard Lapointe Habeas hearing will resume for three more days in the Rockville Superior Court. Lapointe was convicted for the 1987 murder of Mrs. Bernice Martin, his then-wife’s 88-year-old grandmother. He was sentenced to life without parole. After the Connecticut Supreme Court upheld his conviction, his lawyer filed a petition for a writ of Habeas Corpus that, if granted, […]
Zeigler, Part XI
Zeigler, Part XI: On Juror Intimidation and Judicial Override You can debate all you want but I have made up my mind; Zeigler is guilty! That was what jury foreman Charles Ashley announced right after he had been elected foreman. According to other jurors, he had made up his mind about two weeks prior … […]
The Skinner jury: what we know now…
If they knew then what we know now…read about the thoughts and feelings of the original Skinner jury! “In light of new developments that have surfaced in the 15 years since Skinner’s trial, several of the original jurors are no longer sure of his guilt. Five say they might have had reasonable doubt at the […]
Zeigler, Part X
By request, the DNA report that exonerates Zeigler. In Dec 1975, a quadruple murder took place in the Zeigler Furniture Store (Winter Garden, Florida). The victims were Charles Mays, Virginia and Perry Edwards, and their daughter Eunice Edwards-Zeigler. The fifth victim, William Thomas Zeigler, became the sole suspect because he survived. The case is riddled […]
Cert Granted in the Skinner Case
The USSC granted the writ of Certiorari in the case of Hank Skinner. Today’s order list included the decision Skinner has been waiting for. Now what does this mean? Read here what the Skeptical Juror writes: “First and foremost, Texas will not be able to execute Hank Skinner until the Supremes have ruled on his petition. That […]
Zeigler, Part IX
Zeigler, Part IX: Let’s talk blood. Pictured here on the website you see the t-shirt Tommy wore underneath a red dress shirt, the night he was shot and, was supposed to die. On the front of the t-shirt you see a big blood stain underneath the left armpit, right? And on the back of the […]
Alaska Enacts DNA Access Law
Alaska is the 48th U.S. state to enact a law granting post-conviction DNA access to prisoners seeking to overturn wrongful convictions. After passing the state’s House and Senate with unanimous support, the measure was signed into law by Gov. Sean Parnell on May 14, 2010. Only Massachusetts and Oklahoma now lack DNA access laws in […]
Zeigler, Part VIII
To completely understand the dynamics in the Zeigler case, I think we should make it more visual, to clarify what we are talking about. If you look into the right margin you will see that under “Last Modified Post” some of the older Zeigler posts show up again. I have added photographs for clarity. These […]
Lapointe hearing May 7, 2010
The defense lawyers trying to clear Richard Lapointe of the horrendous 1987 murder of Mrs. Bernice Martin began an attack in court last Friday on a detective who they said secured the mentally disabled man’s questionable confession after a series of suggestive and, at times, threatening interrogations. Much of the testimony Friday focused on a […]