Thomas Zeigler Jr - Wrongly convicted?

mayelf

Member
Joined
Sep 25, 2009
Messages
763
Reaction score
19
Recap of events - http://justicedenied.org/zeigler.htm

Book written about Zeigler - http://www.fadp.org/Zeigler/FatalFlaw.pdf

Website with random information - http://www.freetommyz.com/

Crime scene map - http://www.freetommyz.com/_mgxroot/page_10767.html

The petition is a couple years old so I think he has ran out of appeals. I just think it is a sad story as they could have done so much more with DNA to find if he was guilty or not. They did find a couple holes with the story of the state with DNA suggesting that Mays had blood contact with Zeigler's father.

I have been picking this apart for years and it still boggles my mind.

Does anyone have any opinion on the case? Do you think he was truly wrongly convicted? Can the State's case be explained to make sense with the evidence?
 
WOW! That is a fascinating story!

I think the whole case should have been re-tried.

Adding more later...

If the information on the website is correct, then I think he is innocent! Why don't they let him have a new trial???
 
One more thing...has anyone submitted this to Shapiro's group? I'm sleepy tonight and can't remember their name...but I would imagine they have if the case has had this much publicity.
 
There are tons of sites with information on him. He even went through a polygraph with someone who is well known for Unsolved mystery and he absolutely believes Zeigler. I will try to find the copy of the appeal rejection from the judge. The judge basically says he thinks the State did a well enough job. I am wondering if maybe the case the defense brought before the judge in the appeal just wasn't enough information.

There is also a more recent book published on him that I haven't read yet. 1997 I think.

The case is so old that a lot of the websites are falling down. But he is still in jail on a death sentence. (As fas as I know)

Here is the appeal link, i think, bunch of jibberish to me: http://vlex.com/vid/william-thomas-zeigler-jr-vs-florida-28858713
 
You could just look at a William Thomas Zeigler, Jr. court opinion if you wanted the scoop on a minuscule portion of the case and legal aspects pertaining to it, but we all know that there is always more behind the scenes than that which makes it into a legal case, because of procedures, human err or human intervention. That would be like just rereading the AP’s report on an event without having the benefit of the background or context of the event. That is a lot of trust in a particular reporter…and we know that every reporter always does a bang up job…uh-hem.

I have written a paper on the evidence for this case for a college class. I read Finch’s book. I met in person with another journalist, who writes under a pseudonym because she still gets death threats for writing in support of WTZ. I looked over the legal docs. I watched the Unsolved Mysteries and A&E Investigates. I visited the sites. I am persuaded by the evidence to believe that more than likely he is innocent. However, I feel so strongly that even if he did do this crime, he should walk, purely based on the reprehensible behavior of the officials involved in this case. Our justice system deserves that much.

Examples:
THE JUDGE did not recuse himself, when four months earlier he was a character witness in a hotly contested liquor license case, where WTZ was the defense’s cw. This was the case of a black man being wrongfully accuse, so that a white man could “rightfully” have the liquor license instead – only a set number of liquor licenses in the State of Florida. THE JUDGE ordered a doctor to give the last holdout jurist valium. THE JUDGE gave everyone else latitude except the defense, showing extreme prejudice. THE JUDGE ring-leaded an exparte meeting (defense excluded) where he told THE PROSECUTOR and LEO officials present that if they got a conviction, he’d make sure the guy [fried]. The LEO officials planted evidence (bullet in the orange grove) and removed evidence (tooth in picture, not in evidence; files on local corruption WTZ had at the house, now missing). The PROSECUTION WITNESS who was allowed to leave and turn in his clothes from that dreadful evening for GSR two days later with price tags still on them – obviously new and not from that evening. THE JURISTS who held the guns (from evidence, which were allowed in with the jury during deliberations then) and dry fired them against the head of the last holdout jurist (later given valium). THE JURISTS later said that they were not sure if he did it, but just wanted to go home for the 4th of July holiday weekend. They said they voted guilty just to get out of there. They also maintained that they recommend Life in Prison, knowing that it would probably be overturned on appeal. THE JUDGE who then, fulfilling his exparte meeting promise, upped the sentence from the jury recommended Life to Death. THE PROSECUTION who tuned over the Jellison tapes after the appeals deadline for them had passed. The Jellison tapes are a recording of a DETECTIVE asking the Jellison family teenage son to recount the events from his next-door hotel vantage point. The son said that as the family returned to their room after dinner, they saw the police out back and then heard the gunfire. The detective then said that the adult son’s report would not help their case, but that if the son could remember it that they heard the gunfire and then later saw the police arrive, then the department would pay for another trip back to Disney for them. It has been six years since I wrote the paper and looked into this case, but I am sure there are more examples that I am just not thinking of now. This case is riddle with them.

I would think that any of these matters would be enough on appeal to get a new trial or just overturn the whole thing. So why isn’t it happening? THE APPEALS SYSTEM is flawed. With every matter brought before the appeals judge, there is a specific question on a specific matter. With tunnel vision, the question is answered without prejudice of the rest of the case or other questions already answered. So then, time and time again, the appeals judge has found in favor of the trial judge’s behavior, stating that each decision was within the scope of the trial judge’s latitude. When you look at the big picture, the prejudice is obvious.

Barring the appeals justice from viewing the big picture is were the flaw lies.

It doesn’t help matters that every witness coming forward with information on the corruption of this case is himself stained with corruption: The LEO who came forward later about the exparte meeting at which he was present, or the prison inmate who saw the LEO “find” a bullet in the area of the orange grove they just searched. Their testimony is not to be believed because they have been found guilty of other crimes.

This case is really just waiting on powerful people to die of old age. The trial judge is now at the federal level in the courts and the Prosecutor is now at the State level. They still wield an enormous amount of power. Furthermore, you cannot separate the hostile climate (Winter Garden in 1975 was a KKK hotbed). As stated before, the journalist I met with still flies under the radar due to death threats.

I have a friend who’s parents lived in Central Florida when the crime took place and still believe after all these years that WTZ is guilty, because they saw the evening news who said he did it (before any trial took place). They have no recollection of any trial, just the news reports right after the crime, because the LEO’s had their man!

When I finished the paper for my class, the unnamed journalist asked me who my teacher was. When I told her that he was a retired FHP officer, she advised me to proceed with caution. Interesting.
 
You could just look at a William Thomas Zeigler, Jr. court opinion if you wanted the scoop on a minuscule portion of the case and legal aspects pertaining to it, but we all know that there is always more behind the scenes than that which makes it into a legal case, because of procedures, human err or human intervention. That would be like just rereading the AP’s report on an event without having the benefit of the background or context of the event. That is a lot of trust in a particular reporter…and we know that every reporter always does a bang up job…uh-hem.

I have written a paper on the evidence for this case for a college class. I read Finch’s book. I met in person with another journalist, who writes under a pseudonym because she still gets death threats for writing in support of WTZ. I looked over the legal docs. I watched the Unsolved Mysteries and A&E Investigates. I visited the sites. I am persuaded by the evidence to believe that more than likely he is innocent. However, I feel so strongly that even if he did do this crime, he should walk, purely based on the reprehensible behavior of the officials involved in this case. Our justice system deserves that much.

Examples:
THE JUDGE did not recuse himself, when four months earlier he was a character witness in a hotly contested liquor license case, where WTZ was the defense’s cw. This was the case of a black man being wrongfully accuse, so that a white man could “rightfully” have the liquor license instead – only a set number of liquor licenses in the State of Florida. THE JUDGE ordered a doctor to give the last holdout jurist valium. THE JUDGE gave everyone else latitude except the defense, showing extreme prejudice. THE JUDGE ring-leaded an exparte meeting (defense excluded) where he told THE PROSECUTOR and LEO officials present that if they got a conviction, he’d make sure the guy [fried]. The LEO officials planted evidence (bullet in the orange grove) and removed evidence (tooth in picture, not in evidence; files on local corruption WTZ had at the house, now missing). The PROSECUTION WITNESS who was allowed to leave and turn in his clothes from that dreadful evening for GSR two days later with price tags still on them – obviously new and not from that evening. THE JURISTS who held the guns (from evidence, which were allowed in with the jury during deliberations then) and dry fired them against the head of the last holdout jurist (later given valium). THE JURISTS later said that they were not sure if he did it, but just wanted to go home for the 4th of July holiday weekend. They said they voted guilty just to get out of there. They also maintained that they recommend Life in Prison, knowing that it would probably be overturned on appeal. THE JUDGE who then, fulfilling his exparte meeting promise, upped the sentence from the jury recommended Life to Death. THE PROSECUTION who tuned over the Jellison tapes after the appeals deadline for them had passed. The Jellison tapes are a recording of a DETECTIVE asking the Jellison family teenage son to recount the events from his next-door hotel vantage point. The son said that as the family returned to their room after dinner, they saw the police out back and then heard the gunfire. The detective then said that the adult son’s report would not help their case, but that if the son could remember it that they heard the gunfire and then later saw the police arrive, then the department would pay for another trip back to Disney for them. It has been six years since I wrote the paper and looked into this case, but I am sure there are more examples that I am just not thinking of now. This case is riddle with them.

I would think that any of these matters would be enough on appeal to get a new trial or just overturn the whole thing. So why isn’t it happening? THE APPEALS SYSTEM is flawed. With every matter brought before the appeals judge, there is a specific question on a specific matter. With tunnel vision, the question is answered without prejudice of the rest of the case or other questions already answered. So then, time and time again, the appeals judge has found in favor of the trial judge’s behavior, stating that each decision was within the scope of the trial judge’s latitude. When you look at the big picture, the prejudice is obvious.

Barring the appeals justice from viewing the big picture is were the flaw lies.

It doesn’t help matters that every witness coming forward with information on the corruption of this case is himself stained with corruption: The LEO who came forward later about the exparte meeting at which he was present, or the prison inmate who saw the LEO “find” a bullet in the area of the orange grove they just searched. Their testimony is not to be believed because they have been found guilty of other crimes.

This case is really just waiting on powerful people to die of old age. The trial judge is now at the federal level in the courts and the Prosecutor is now at the State level. They still wield an enormous amount of power. Furthermore, you cannot separate the hostile climate (Winter Garden in 1975 was a KKK hotbed). As stated before, the journalist I met with still flies under the radar due to death threats.

I have a friend who’s parents lived in Central Florida when the crime took place and still believe after all these years that WTZ is guilty, because they saw the evening news who said he did it (before any trial took place). They have no recollection of any trial, just the news reports right after the crime, because the LEO’s had their man!

When I finished the paper for my class, the unnamed journalist asked me who my teacher was. When I told her that he was a retired FHP officer, she advised me to proceed with caution. Interesting.


Very Interesting as my Mother and I were talking about this just yesterday. She and my Father knew Tommy and she believes he is innocent. They knew him before he went off to college. I asked her what was her impression of him. She said he was silly. Being young when she knew him, she said he had wild ideas. She believed he had no children and no siblings. She thought it very sad after he was convicted there was no one to help him. She also stated his parents were very wealthy. My parents moved out of state after he went off to college and had no more contact with him. So sad...
 
Florida Supreme Court denies new DNA analysis in death row inmate William 'Tommy' Zeigler's case

"William "Tommy" Zeigler, the 71-year-old man who has spent the last four decades on death row for the murders of four people, will not be allowed to test evidence in his case with touch DNA technology, the Florida Supreme Court ruled Friday.

Zeigler was convicted of killing his wife, her parents and another man at his Winter Garden furniture store on Dec. 24, 1975. The case has long attracted those skeptical of the evidence against Zeigler, including one of the original investigators and a former Orlando Sentinel newspaper editor. It was also the subject of a 1992 book called Fatal Flaw..."

http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts...-analysis-in-death-row-inmate-william/2321231
---

William Thomas ZEIGLER Jr.

"Classification: Mass murderer

Characteristics: Parricide - To collect insurance money

Number of victims: 4

Date of murders: December 24, 1975

Date of arrest: Same day (shot himself to look like a victim)

Date of birth: July 24, 1945

Victims profile: His wife Eunice, her parents Perry and Virginia Edwards, and Charles Mays Jr., an employee

Method of murder: Shooting

Location: Orange County, Florida, USA

Status: Sentenced to death on July 16, 1976..."

http://murderpedia.org/male.Z/z/zeigler-william.htm
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
I am from Winter Garden. I still lived there when this happened. I have always believed that TZ is guilty. My family knew his. I've always felt sorry for his parents. That said, i also believe that he did not get a fair trial.
 
Blood and truth:The lingering case of Tommy Zeigler and how Florida fights DNA testing

Tommy Zeigler continues to maintain his innocence. He has been trying — for more than two decades — to convince the state of Florida to allow for full DNA testing of the evidence in his case. He says it would help exonerate him. But the state has refused. Again and again. Read chapter one in our six-part series here.

Weekend rewind: Death Row inmate Tommy Zeigler's appeals for DNA testing; missing Husky from Brooklyn turns up in Seffner; and more
 
While I firmly believe TZ is guilty, I also believe he did not get a fair trial. The judge was biased and should've stepped down. However, here we are 40+ years later. Most of the main players from the original trial are deceased. I don't see him getting a fair trial today either. Let them perform the DNA tests, due to that small , unlikely chance he might be innocent. I believe he has never been executed because the powers that be know his trial was not fair.
 
BLOOD AND TRUTH: CHAPTER TWO OF SIX
Finding a killer


Nov. 26, 2018

"On Christmas Eve 1975, police are called to a grisly scene at a furniture store in Winter Garden. Police focus in on the owner, who was shot and survived...."

Finding a killer | Narratives | Tampa Bay Times
---

BLOOD AND TRUTH: CHAPTER THREE OF SIX
Trial and errors


Nov. 27, 2018

"Witnesses impugn defendant’s testimony, but one juror feels bullied into verdict...."

Trial and errors | Narratives | Tampa Bay Times
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
BLOOD AND TRUTH: CHAPTER FOUR OF SIX
Science offers scrutiny


Nov. 28, 2018

"Years after conviction, DNA provides opportunity for new look at old evidence..."

Science offers scrutiny | Narratives | Tampa Bay Times
------

BLOOD AND TRUTH: CHAPTER FIVE OF SIX
Could he be innocent?


Nov. 29, 2018

"Zeigler’s supporters grow over time, and new theory emerges about furniture store killings...."

Could he be innocent? | Narratives | Tampa Bay Times
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
BLOOD AND TRUTH: CHAPTER SIX OF SIX
Epilogue


Nov. 30, 2018

"Judicial system is designed to support a jury’s verdict, even if mistakes were made."

Epilogue | Narratives | Tampa Bay Times
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
State attorney’s office reviewing 1975 murder case recently featured in Times series
Tommy Zeigler has been on death row since 1976. The state has rejected his repeated requests for DNA testing.


January 4, 2019

"The state attorney’s office that prosecuted Tommy Zeigler for the murders of his wife, in-laws and another man at his furniture store on Christmas Eve 1975 says that it is taking a fresh look at his case.

And a Florida state representative says he wants to introduce legislation to address both prosecutorial misconduct and problems with access to forensic science, including DNA testing.

Zeigler, who has been on death row for 42 years, was recently the subject of a multi-part investigation in the Tampa Bay Times. He has asked six times for advanced DNA tests of clothing, fingernail scrapings and guns still in evidence at a climate-controlled locker in Orlando. The 73-year-old’s lawyers have agreed to pay for the testing....."

State attorney’s office reviewing 1975 murder case recently featured in Times series

latest

(Perry and Virginia Edwards)

latest

(Eunice Zeigler)

Charlie-May-150x150.jpg

(Charles Mays)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
Blood and Truth podcast: Chapter seven - On the row
Tommy Zeigler has spent more than four decades living in a 6-foot by 9-foot cell and trying not to get angry


"Only one of the more than 340 inmates on Florida’s death row has been there longer than Tommy Zeigler, who maintains his innocence in the 1975 murders of his family....

Listen to the podcast below:..."

Blood and Truth podcast: Chapter seven - On the row
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 

Members online

Online statistics

Members online
70
Guests online
719
Total visitors
789

Forum statistics

Threads
589,922
Messages
17,927,695
Members
228,002
Latest member
zipperoni
Back
Top