Is he still around? What do you all think about his story?

Please refresh my memory on this one, I can't remember.

Please refresh my memory on this one, I can't remember.

He's the guy on death row for a quadruple murder at a Florida furniture store.

There is a link that lists the inmates who are on Florida's death row. They are listed chronologically by the date in which they were sentenced to death row. Since William "Tommy" Zeigler was sentenced to death in 1976, you won't have to scroll down the list too far. Remember, the link only lists current Florida death row inmates.

http://www.dc.state.fl.us/activeinmates/deathrowroster.asp

I think based on the DNA evidence, he should have gotten a chance for an appeal.

At first blush I too think Ziegler deserves another trial based on the fact there seems to be some evidence that has been called into question amid some shoddy police work which if handled properly may have exonerated Ziegler years ago.

But then again Ziegler's defense is essentially that he was set up by a great many people from Judge Maurice Paul to Eddie Williams and many others so if Ziegler is innocent it would mean that a great many people were involved in some type of collusion to get Ziegler put to death. This seems highly unlikely although would be downright scary if it was true.

I found an article online that sheds some light on a possible motive for people wanting Ziegler dead, it reads in part:

In the 1989 nationally syndicated television program on the case, A Matter of Life and Death, television journalist Ike Pappas noted: ``Zeigler was attempting to clean up corruption right in his hometown of Winter Garden, Florida. He was helpful in shutting down the old Edgewater Hotel, a center of prostitution and drug dealing. But he was also trying to gather information on other illegal activities such as gun running and, most importantly, loan sharking.

``The loan sharks made a fortune letting [black] migrant workers buy groceries on credit at an interest rate of 520 percent per year. And Tommy Zeigler alleges that certain members of the Winter Garden police force were in on the action.''

The one thing that I wonder about with this case is where did all the guns used and that were found come from and who died by which gun and if they ever recovered all the guns used? This case has so many complex dimensions to it and unanswered questions too. Like why and when did the shooting begin in the first place? It seems like from the DNA evidence that Mays beat the father in law to death and Zeigler then beats Mays to death.

I wanted to believe Ziegler, but when they started talking about all these other people being involved, the story just became too incredible, in my opinion.

Well, this is a tough one. I do think that Ziegler is innocent. However I can understand how people would think he is guilty. Mainly because Ziegler's story of innocence, if true, contains a great many people that for reasons that still do not remain totally clear would set him up. Was it because they wanted to rob the furniture store and have him take the fall for it?

Some of the prosecutors theories are remarkable too though. Like how they claimed that Ziegler took Charlie Mays and Felton Thomas to an orange grove to shoot guns so that he could taint their hands with gunshot residue and have their fingerprints on the guns yet the guns were all wiped clean of fingerprints.

To be fair though and I think everyone can agree here. Whether you think Ziegler is innocent or guilty, Judge Maurice Paul had zero business presiding over this trial. He was well known to have a personal dislike of Ziegler before the murders even happened. Then he did something that is practically unheard of in Florida, he overrode a jury recommending life and sentenced Ziegler to death. It does happen from time to time that a judge will override a jury that recommends death and sentences the person to life instead but rarely does it happen the other way around.

In fact, Ziegler is the only one on Florida's death row that I can think of where a jury recommended life and the judge overrode and sentenced him to death. It is a tough call but I dont think Ziegler will ever get a new trial, at least not in the state courts. Only chance he has is in federal court. Ziegler is nearing the end with his appeals though so Ziegler's clock is running out sadly.