Blood and Truth

Blood and Truth

Tommy Zeigler has been on death row for 42 years and for more than half that time, he’s been trying to convince the state of Florida to allow for DNA tests that might help exonerate him. But the state continually refuses. About 20 other men are in a similar situation, imprisoned in Florida since the 1970s or ’80s and arguing that it’s inherently unfair to deny them access to 21st century science. Leonora LaPeter Anton, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for the Tampa Bay Times, and photographer Cherie Diez have followed the case for years. In 2018, they traveled around Florida and into Georgia to interview dozens of people, some involved in the police work or prosecution, others who believe in Zeigler’s innocence. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episodes

June 26, 2023 31 mins

It's been three years since the last episode of Blood and Truth, and Tommy Zeigler is still on death row. But with the election of a new state attorney comes fresh hope for the DNA testing Ziegler says could set him free after nearly five decades behind bars. Here's the latest.



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Tommy Zeigler waited on Florida’s death row last year with hope that there would be another chance to test the evidence in his case. Listen to what happened.

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February 18, 2020 28 secs
Will prosecutors give Tommy Zeigler another chance at DNA testing?

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February 19, 2019 56 mins
Listen to Pulitzer Prize winner Leonora LaPeter Anton talk about what didn’t make it into this series, what’s happening with the Tommy Zeigler case and thoughts about his guilt or innocence.

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February 12, 2019 35 mins
Florida’s judicial system is designed to support a jury’s verdict, whether it was right or wrong.

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February 5, 2019 33 mins
Tommy Zeigler has spent more than four decades living in a 6-foot by 9-foot cell and trying not to get angry.

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January 29, 2019 34 mins
Tommy Zeigler's supporters have spent years chasing clues and re-investigating the murders. Listen to what they've uncovered.

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January 22, 2019 31 mins
The advent of modern forensic science gives Tommy Zeigler hope, but prosecutors and judges keep rejecting his requests for DNA testing.

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January 15, 2019 20 mins
One juror struggles to make a decision and feels badgered by others who think the evidence is clear in Tommy Zeigler's case.

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January 8, 2019 29 mins
Prosecutors present the case against Tommy Zeigler, as his defense team scrambles to vet witnesses and get evidence tested.

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Winter Garden, Fla., a rural town in central Florida, is rattled by the slayings at a furniture store, and the police investigation zeros in on Tommy Zeigler.

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December 25, 2018 30 mins
A man who has spent 42 years on Florida's death row says DNA testing can prove that he's innocent. The state refuses to allow it.

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December 18, 2018 1 min
Tommy Zeigler has been on death row for 42 years and for more than half that time, he’s been trying to convince the state of Florida to allow for DNA tests that might help exonerate him. But the state continually refuses. About 20 other men are in a similar situation, imprisoned in Florida since the 1970s or ’80s and arguing that it’s inherently unfair to deny them access to 21st century science. Tampa Bay Times reporter Leonora La...

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