PUBLISHER'S NOTE ONE: "WORDS TO HEED: FROM OUR POST ON KEVIN COOPER'S APPLICATION FOR POST-CONVICTION DNA TESTING; CALIFORNIA: (Applicable wherever a state resists DNA testing): "Blogger/extraordinaire Jeff Gamso's blunt, unequivocal, unforgettable message to the powers that be in California: "JUST TEST THE FUCKING DNA." (Oh yes, Gamso raises, as he does in many of his posts, an important philosophical question: This post is headed: "What is truth, said jesting Pilate."...Says Gamso: "So what's the harm? What, exactly, are they scared of? Don't we want the truth?")
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QUOTE OF THE DAY: "In a statement to WESH 2 News, Zeigler's attorney, Terry Hadley, said, "After a joint investigation in which the state attorney's office was fully engaged and rigorous DNA testing using new science and techniques, we believe we have developed the evidence that conclusively shows that Tommy Zeigler is an innocent man. Our motion that we have filed on Friday, reflects the results of that investigation and the exhibits which will be filed on Tuesday when the courts reopen will support that position completely. after trying for over 40 years to exonerate this man, we believe that the courts will free him soon based upon the new evidence that we No hearing has been set to review the new evidence, and the state has not filed a response to the motion."
PASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY: The now-79-year-old has been on death row for nearly 49 years, longer than anyone else in Florida history.
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STORY: "Zeigler Defense: New DNA evidence proves he is not the killer," by Reporter Greg Fox, published by WESH, on January 18, 2025. Greg Fox has been a member of the WESH 2 News team since May 1987 as an anchor and reporter. He is currently the Investigative and Political reporter.
GIST: "Florida death row inmate William "Tommy" Zeigler has filed a new motion to prove his innocence using new DNA testing."
In late 2022, a judge granted Zeigler and his defense team new DNA testing on evidence from the 1975 Christmas Eve mass murder of Zeigler's family inside his Winter Garden furniture store. Police found the bodies of Zeigler's wife, Eunice, her parents, Perry and Virginia Edwards, and customer Charlie Mays inside the store alongside Zeigler
The women were both shot, and the men had been brutally beaten inside the store.
Zeigler himself had a gunshot wound to his stomach, which was ruled by the prosecution to be self-inflicted. The now-79-year-old has been on death row for nearly 49 years, longer than anyone else in Florida history.
The new motion, filed on Jan. 17 by Zeigler's legal team, says the DNA proves that Mays was one of the killers.
Zeigler's attorneys say that the DNA testing results are "wholly inconsistent" with Zeigler's guilt and that the absence of blood from Zeigler's family members shows that he could not have committed the murders. His attorneys also said that DNA testing results showed Mays' clothes were stained with the blood of Perry Edwards, which supports the conclusion that Mays was a perpetrator. They also said that the DNA results show the state's claims that Zeigler held Perry Edwards in a headlock and beat him was false.
In a statement to WESH 2 News, Zeigler's attorney, Terry Hadley, said, "After a joint investigation in which the state attorney's office was fully engaged and rigorous DNA testing using new science and techniques, we believe we have developed the evidence that conclusively shows that Tommy Zeigler is an innocent man. Our motion that we have filed on Friday, reflects the results of that investigation and the exhibits which will be filed on Tuesday when the courts reopen will support that position completely. after trying for over 40 years to exonerate this man, we believe that the courts will free him soon based upon the new evidence that we No hearing has been set to review the new evidence, and the state has not filed a response to the motion.""
The entire story can be read at:
https://search.app/?link=https%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ewesh%2Ecom%2Farticle%2Fzeigler%2Dnew%2Ddna%2Devidence%2Dproves%2Dhe%2Dnot%2Dkiller%2F63466904&utm_campaign=57165%2Dor%2Digacx%2Dweb%2Dshrbtn%2Diga%2Dsharing&utm_source=igadl%2Cigatpdl%2Csh%2Fx%2Fgs%2Fm2%2F5PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.
SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL:
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985
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FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;
