The Ultimate Punishment: Florida Jury Recommends This For Brutal Double-Murderer

On Wednesday, May 24, a Florida jury recommended that Zieler receive the death penalty.

The case began in 1990 when Zieler murdered 32-year-old Lisa Story and 11-year-old Robin Cornell in the home shared with Jan Cornell, Robin's mother. On May 10, 1990, when Jan Cornell came home, she found her daughter and roommate dead. Both had been sexually assaulted.

For 26 years, the murders were a cold case until Zieler was arrested, and DNA evidence linked him to the brutal murders. The trial was fraught with repeated delays in prosecuting Zieler. Finally, on May 16, 2023, the trial began with DNA evidence being a major factor in the prosecution's case. The jury deliberated late into the night and found Zieler guilty on two counts of first-degree murder by a 10-2 decision.

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Florida's history with the death penalty has seen changes through the years. For decades, a jury did not need a unanimous vote to impose the death penalty in a capital punishment case. If the majority of the jury were in favor of the death penalty, a judge could impose capital punishment. In 2016, this changed when the U.S. Supreme Court removed the state law citing that judges had too much discretion.

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The state legislature made another attempt by passing a bill recommending a 10-2 decision when a case involved capital punishment. The state Supreme Court did not like that recommendation, either, stating that for the death penalty to be imposed, it should be unanimous. The state had no choice in 2017 but to follow the state law requiring a unanimous vote by the jurors.

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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis stepped in three years later by appointing new conservatives to the state Supreme Court. With the new appointees in place, the earlier decision requiring a unanimous vote by jurors recommending the death penalty was rescinded. The ruling means a death recommendation in Florida no longer requires a unanimous vote.