A legal battle spanning over three decades has ended with a final judgment from the Florida Supreme Court. Attorney General James Uthmeier announced that the state’s Capital Appeals Division successfully secured a death sentence for Joseph Zieler, the man convicted of the 1990 rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl and her babysitter during a home invasion.
Zieler remained a free man for decades until a breakthrough involving the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) finally linked him to the forensic evidence from the crime scene.
“This depraved criminal managed to sleep at night for decades as he evaded justice for the rape and murder of a little girl and her babysitter,” Attorney General Uthmeier said. “Due to the tireless work of Assistant Attorney General Christina Pacheco, and with support from the Solicitor General’s Office, we affirmed the ultimate form of punishment, and he will never see the outside of a prison cell again.”
READ: Appeal Filed As Execution Date Nears For James E. Hitchcock In 1976 Florida Killing Of Step-Niece
The ruling stands as one of the first major affirmations under Florida’s revised death penalty statute, Senate Bill (SB) 450.
The law, signed by Governor Ron DeSantis on April 20, 2023, shifted the jury requirements for recommending capital punishment from a unanimous vote to a supermajority of eight out of twelve jurors.
With his conviction and sentence now upheld by the state’s highest court, Zieler will remain in the custody of the Florida Department of Corrections to await his execution.
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