Joseph Zieler trial: Lawyers, state debate Florida death penalty rules

Reporter: Claire Galt Writer: Joey Pellegrino
Published: Updated:
Joseph Zieler in court. Credit: WINK News

Ahead of Monday’s jury selection for the murder trial of Joseph Zieler, his lawyers are arguing with the prosecution over whether or not it will take a unanimous jury decision to give him the death penalty.

Wednesday will mark 33 years since 11-year-old Robin Cornell and her babysitter, 32-year-old Lisa Story, were murdered in Cornell’s Cape Coral Home.

“I love my baby more than life itself. And my friend, I loved her too,” Jan Cornell, Robin’s mother, said.

If Zieler is found guilty of killing an 11-year-old girl and her babysitter in Cape Coral in 1990, new rules mean it would only take eight jurors to give him the death penalty instead of a unanimous vote. But the defense and prosecution are arguing over whether the new rules should apply or not.

“My baby did not deserve this. Neither of them deserved this evilness,” Jan Cornell said.

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the bill into law in April. Zieler’s attorneys told Judge Robert Branning he shouldn’t follow that new law.

Attorney Lee Hollander believes the new law does not apply to Zieler, who has been in jail since 2016, and his co-counsel Kevin Shirley says the new rules make no sense.

On the other hand, the State Attorney’s Office says Hollander doesn’t have to understand the law, but it must be followed.

“I’m not even sure what legal argument one would make to get to the point that the law that applies, in this case, is the one that existed for a fleeting moment in the middle,” the prosecution said.

The argument that the law is unconstitutional, on the other hand, is not for Branning to determine.

“We believe that the change in statute is nothing but a knee-jerk reaction by the legislature,” said attorney Kevin Shirley.

“At the end of the day, whether it’s right or wrong, the U.S. Supreme Court can decide, the prosecution said. “By this court’s perspective, it’s binding.”

Facing the death penalty, Zieler appeared calm but didn’t sit back and let his attorneys handle things. Instead, he passed a note to the judge asking if he could fire them.

“I have been handed a copy of a motion from the defendant’s motion to fire Council no DNA expert in the no capital felony DNA and hair-murder trial,” Judge Robert Branning said.

The judge denied Zieler’s motion and let his attorneys, and the state, question prospective jurors.

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