Disir
Platinum Member
- Sep 30, 2011
- 28,003
- 9,610
A former Death Row inmate Alabama who won a new trial three years ago will be free within hours, becoming the second condemned Alabama prisoner ordered freed this month.
William Ziegler, 39, had been awaiting execution since his conviction in 2001 for the slaying of Russell Allen Baker near the defendant's home at the time in Mobile County. His regular appeals exhausted, he won a rarely successful post-appeal challenge made directly to the trial judge.
Prosecutors had been preparing to retry the case and as recently as November indicated they would again seek the death penalty. On Thursday, Ziegler accepted a plea bargain and that will allow him to walk free. He pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting murder, and Mobile County Circuit Judge Sarah Stewart sentenced him to the 15 years and 50 days he has been incarcerated.
His attorneys said he will leave Mobile County Metro Jail as soon as authorities process him, which should take an hour or two.
"I know that you recognize God's grace," the judge told Ziegler, urging him to resist the temptation to be bitter. "I want you to appreciate that gift. You need to be very careful with your gift. ... The world is a very different place than it was 15 years ago when you went to jail."
Former Alabama Death Row inmate cuts deal will be free within hours AL.com
So, he had to plead guilty to get out.
William Ziegler, 39, had been awaiting execution since his conviction in 2001 for the slaying of Russell Allen Baker near the defendant's home at the time in Mobile County. His regular appeals exhausted, he won a rarely successful post-appeal challenge made directly to the trial judge.
Prosecutors had been preparing to retry the case and as recently as November indicated they would again seek the death penalty. On Thursday, Ziegler accepted a plea bargain and that will allow him to walk free. He pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting murder, and Mobile County Circuit Judge Sarah Stewart sentenced him to the 15 years and 50 days he has been incarcerated.
His attorneys said he will leave Mobile County Metro Jail as soon as authorities process him, which should take an hour or two.
"I know that you recognize God's grace," the judge told Ziegler, urging him to resist the temptation to be bitter. "I want you to appreciate that gift. You need to be very careful with your gift. ... The world is a very different place than it was 15 years ago when you went to jail."
Former Alabama Death Row inmate cuts deal will be free within hours AL.com
So, he had to plead guilty to get out.
