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You are here: Home / Zeigler / Zeigler: Appeal Denied

Zeigler: Appeal Denied

November 15, 2013 By Alice

Zeigler: Appeal Denied by the Florida Supreme Court last Nov 13, 2013. Here is the decision in pdf format:

small SOCFLA case disposition order Nov 2013_Page_1

small SOCFLA case disposition order Nov 2013_Page_2

The newly discovered evidence hinged on the false arrest report by Det. Frye. It is discussed here. What are the consequences of the false arrest report and the lies told by Detective Frye under oath? We have to go back to the first trial when Mr. Zeigler was defended by Mr. Ralph V. Hadley, III.

Mr. Hadley started the Zeigler trial from the assumption that the documents he had received were correct. His private investigator, Gene Anan, who checked the facts in the case could not find a Robert Foster. Detective Frye continuously told the defense that he did not know a Robert Foster. He even stated so on the stand and that there had just been a typographical error in the arrest report. Therefore, Hadley and the rest of the Zeigler defense team relied on the state’s assertions that: Robert Foster did not exist, that Frye had not spoken to a man named Robert Foster and that there was no involvement of a man named Robert Foster in the Zeigler case. Frye signed a new arrest report dated March 26, 1976 leaving out any information about a man called Robert Foster.

If Hadley had evidence that Robert Foster did exist, he would have undermined the credibility of one of the state’s own witnesses. The state has an obligation under Brady v. Maryland to disclose any favourable evidence even if that meant it could impeach their own witnesses.

As you can see in the decision, the Florida Supreme Court “affirm[s] the denial of Zeigler’s Brady claims because he has failed to meet the prejudice prong. Even if we accepted Zeigler’s assertions as true, there is no “reasonable probability that, had the evidence been disclosed to the defense, the result of the proceeding would have been different.”

If everything had been disclosed, it would have made a difference.

What is next? I honestly do not know.

 

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Related

Filed Under: Zeigler Tagged With: Brady v. Maryland, Florida, Miscarriage of Justice, newly discovered evidence, William Thomas Zeigler, Wrongful Convictions

Reader Interactions

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  1. Petition for Cert filed for Zeigler says:
    April 4, 2014 at 3:34 pm

    […] for Cert filed for Zeigler with the United States Supreme Court by the New York defense team! The State of Florida has to respond this […]

  2. Is Clemency next for Zeigler? says:
    December 17, 2013 at 1:00 pm

    […] Clemency next for Zeigler? That is a question I received after readers saw on my blog that the last appeal based on new evidence was denied by the Florida Supreme Court. Most people however asked: what is […]

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Author Notes

On this website, I write about old, unsolved cases. Most are from the pre-DNA era and are in need of renewed media attention. I only do research and leave the active investigation of these cases to the professionals.

My posts are about homicides, missing and unidentified people, wrongful convictions, and forensics as related to these cases.

On book reviews: I only review select works of true crime, crime fiction, and historical fiction/mysteries. The stories have to fit my website's theme and research. It remains my prerogative to not review a book.

My database has over 325 cases listed by the victim’s last name. You will find a brief description there as well. The database will always be free to the public to use. You cannot buy ad space on my website, ever.

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Alice de Sturler

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Copyright: Please add a link back if you use my work. Let your readers know where you found your information. I do the same for you. If you need help with this, just contact me. Thank you, Alice de Sturler

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