The Orlando Sentinel from Orlando, Florida • 1

entitle qdIUrHiilav tunday'a Sehtlrief Star Late Sports Florida's Most Interesting Newspaper Orlando, Florida, Saturday, July 3, 1976 lOOlh Yeut No. 185 I'M ImtiMl Ittr Company 50 PufjeM 15 Cents Wife, Mugs First Degree, ln-Lmys Second Degree Zeigler Guilty Of 4 Murders fr-y a it '-fi-A I I 1 I By DIANNE SELDITCH Sentinel Star Stall JACKSONVILLE Winter Garden business man William Thomas Zeigler Jr. Friday was convicted of two counts of first-' degree murder and two of second-degree murder in the Christmas Eve massacre of his wife, her parents a customer in the Zeigler family furniture store. Zeigler was calm and showed no emotion as he heard himself pronounced guilty of what investigators called "the bloodiest, most bizarre" murders in Orange County's history. HE SAT with legs crossed and looked straight at Court Clerk John Parsons as Parsons read the verdicts.

shoes to know," he said. "It will always be with me." Edwards said he felt no hate for his brother-in-law. "I just feel sorry for him." Zeigler's cousin, Connie Crawford, broke down in sobs in the hallway and was comforted by defense attorney Ralph V. Hadley III. HADLEY WAS grim, downcast.

He refused comment. Zeigler's aged parents, William Thomas Sr. and Beulah Zeigler, were not in the courtroom when the verdicts were returned. Hadley had advised them not to attend, saying the strain would be too great no matter which way the decision went. The jury said Zeigler was guilty of the first-degree murder wife, Eunice, 31.

-and stored customer Charles Nlay.Sr 35'i Second-degree murder were returned in the- killings of his wife's Perry, Ed-i wards, 72, and Virginia 62, of Moultrie, Ga. Perry Edwards son of Perry and Virginia Edwards and brother to Eunice Zeigler, said after the verdict, "If they (the jurors) said he did, he did it. Yes, I want the death penalty." EDWARDS, assistant warden of the Colquitt County Correctional Institution at Moultrie, said he had been under terrible strain during the 354-week trial. "You would have to get in my la- OR ANG E-OSCEOLA State Atty. Robert Eagan said he was relieved "a decision had been reached." He admitted he had grown concerned when the jury deliberations dragged out more than 17 hours over three days.

Tension had been heavy in the Duval County Courthouse as the jury's decision was awaited. At 4:45 p.m. the bailiff announced verdicts had been reached. Quickly, more than 70 spectators gathered in the courtroom. ZEIGLER, 30, walked to the defense table, took a deep breath and sat down.

They were staying with tives in Jacksonville. Hadley stood behind him, his left arm about Zeigler's shoulder. They chatted until the jury filed in. The jurors were solemn, their eyes cast downward as they took their seats. At Hadley's request, the jurors were polled individually.

All said the verdict was theirs. One woman's voice cracked and she seemed near tears, but she replied, 'Yes," when asked if she agreed with the verdicts. MRS. IRMA BRICKELL, whose upset stomach delayed deliberations for two hours Thursday, began crying as she left the courtroom. Orange-Osceola Circuit Court (Continued On Page 8-A, Col.

1) Penalty Upheld, Florida Explicitly Tit J' i If i Death I 1 S. 'V i Court's Ruling No Surprise On Death Row By DICK BURDETTE Sentinel Star Stall Deep down, they knew they were doomed. Prison officials noticed it. PRIVATELY, the inmates themselves admitted it. In recent weeks, the gloom permeated their thoughts, their moods, the very death-like stillness of their shadowy, mint green, 6-foot-by 9-foot cells on Florida State Prison's death row at Rai-fordk north of Gainesville.

The question, to these inmates, wasn't whether the U.S. Supreme Court would uphold Florida's death penalty but when. IT CAME Friday. Just like Charles William Prof-fitt and James Dupre Henry and Jesse Joseph Tafero and other death row inmates said it would several weeks ago. Individually, they were taken back then from their one-man cells, ushered into a dingy visiting room and asked by prison admin istrative assistant John Anderson if they would be willing to discuss, their feelings about the pending death penalty decision with a reporter.

ONLY ONE OF the half dozen, Otis T. Williams of Orlando, refused. The rest spoke calmly, philosophically about the death penalty and the prevailing public attitude toward it. All, of course, opposed it. All said the public favors it.

All said it would not deter major crime. "THEY (THE PUBLIC) want it because they think it will deter crime, stop murders," said the 26-year-old Henry, convicted of strangling longtime Orlando black community leader Zellie Riley to death March 28, 1974. "It won't. That won't do it. If a At (Sentinel star PhoToo? TTanK ROuc W.

T. ZEIGLER JR. Jury penalty advice today WASHINGTON (fft The Supreme Court upheld the death penalty Friday as a punishment for murder but said judges and juries must be required to consider the character and record of the defendant. By a 7 to 2 vote, the court said death for murder is not a cruel and unusual punishment as prohibited by the Constitution. BUT IN separate 5 to 4 decisions, it struck down laws Louisiana and North Carolina making the penalty mandatory for several types of slayings.

"Fundamental respect for humanity requires consideration of the character and record of the individual offender and the circumstances of the particular More On Death Penalty, Pg. 6-A Editorial, Pg. 12-A offense as a constitutionally indispensable part of the process of inflicting the penalty of death," the court said. The court specifically upheld laws in Florida, Georgia and Texas in its first statement on capital punishment in four years. In 1972 it ruled that laws then on the books gave judges and juries too much leeway.

THE COURT said these three states successfully met the objections which it raised in its 1972 ruling because they gave the judges and 'jurors guidelines by which to make their decisions. Thirty-four states have enacted death penalty laws in the last four years and still have them on the books. More than half of them make death mandatory for specified crimes. Congress has also passed legislation providing a mandatory death penalty for airplane hijackings resulting in loss of life. No one has been sentenced under this law.

THE COURT'S main opinion was written by Justice Potter Stewart, one of the five justices who voted in 1972 to strike down the laws then in existence. Stewart noted that he, along with Justices Byron R. White and William O. Douglas, reserved judgment at that time as to whether the death penalty could (Continued On Page 4-A, Col. 1) The Weather Cloudy with a 50 per cent chance of thundershowers.

Lows in law 70s. Highs near 90. Southwest winds 10 to 15 m.p.h. Maps and other reports on Page 7-C. Index Astrology 3D Obituaries 2B Classified 6C People ID Comics 2D Religion 10A Editorial 12A Restaurant 6D Financial 4B Sports 1C Funerals 6C Television 8D Movies 7D Weather 7C Sentinel Star Phones Advertising Department ClassifiedWant ads 420-5757 Retail Display Advertising 420-5100 Circulation Department Customer Service News Department News 420-5411 People Section 420-54S5 Sports Scores 420-5737 Please see Page 234 of the Orlando white pages of your telephone directory lor complete listings.

(UPI) CONVICTED MURDERER CHARLES WILLIAM PROFFITT reviewed Floridian's case Supreme Court person has made up his mind to do it regardless. Besides, it won't bring the victim back Tafero, the 72nd man to arrive on death row, was convicted of murdering a Florida Highway Patrol trooper and a vacationing Canadian police officer near Pom-pano Beach Feb. 20. GABBY AND ANIMATED, Tafero produced a handful of newspaper lippings and launched into a nonstop discourse on why he was innocent and how dangerous the death penalty is because it contains no "fail safe" controls. But even he became introspective when the conversation focused on his expectations.

"That Supreme Court decision is very dear to me right now," he said softly. THEN HE ADDED, "I'm not confident it will be overturned Proffitt said he, too, expected (Continued On Page 6-A, Col. 1) Sikes' Lawyer Raps Panel 'Mistake9 MRS. LIBERTY SHOWS PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE, FLAG New citizen outside federal building in Orlando Friday Mrs. Liberty Becomes One Oi 'IS' For 200th By JANE HEALY Sentinel Star Staff America became one Liberty richer Friday.

Orlando resident Fatemeh Liberty was granted her U. S. citizenship. Along with 100 other persons, she recited her first pledge of allegiance as an American citizen. Tightly clutching a miniature American flag in one hand and naturalization information in the other, the 31-year-old Iranian-born woman said it was only coincidence her naturalization coincided with another liberty celebration this weekend.

SHE FILED for citizenship last August and expected to become a citizen in a few months. But it was not until Friday that she entered the federal courtroom in Orlando and swore her allegiance to the United States. Dressed in an off-white dress accented with a red, white and blue scarf around her neck. Mrs. Liberty said her name was not Liberty when she applied for citizenship.

It became that when she married Joseph D. Liberty in September. Her first priority as a citizen will be to go to the Orange County elections office to register to vote. "THE BEST thing is that I'm going to be able to vote," she said, adding she has not made up her mind who she favors in this year's presidential race. But her decision to become an American citizen involved more than that.

As a young girl in Tehran, Iran, she dreamed of becoming a U.S. citizen. In 1966 she moved to this country with her first husband, an American Air Force member. "I just know I belong here. I'm not visiting any more.

This is my country. I don't want to be a foreigner any more," Mrs. Liberty said. SHE SAID she realized two years ago that America was her country, and not Iran. She said she has no regrets about giving up that country's citizenship.

"The United States is the greatest nation in the world as far as I'm concerned." she said. "I'll have the freedom I didn't have in Iran." By ANNE GROER Sentinel Star Staff WASHINGTON The attorney for Rep. Robert L. F. Sikes said Fridav the House Ethics Committee made a "serious mistake" both in the way it handled its investigation of his client's conduct and its recommendations that he be reprimanded for violating House rules.

"The committee was conscious of the fact that they were setting a precedent, and I think they made a serious mistake in not affording the accused a detailed list of accusations" and the opportunity to sit in on the deliberations, said Lawrence J. Hogan during a telephone interview. THE LAWYER, a former Republican congressman from Maryland, unsuccessfully sought permission for himself and Sikes to sit in on committee meetings and deliberations, which took place behind closed doors between April 29 and July 1. Thursday evening. Chairman John J.

Flynt announced that the 12-member committee had finished its work and had voted unanimously to withhold its recommendations until the 200-page report could be released. However, within an hour of that announcement, informed sources revealed that the committee voted 8 to 0 to recommend that the full House reprimand the 70-year-old Sikes for three violations of conflict of interest rules. THE 18-TERM Crestview Democrat, in Florida for the July 4 recess, could not be reached. He is not accused of any illegal conduct. The House could vote to formally censure him, deliver a reprimand, fine him, expel him or strip him of his chairmanship of the powerful military construction appropriations subcommittee.

The still secret report, which may not be released for two or three weeks, found Sikes guilty of: Sponsoring legislation permitting commercial development of Santa Rosa Island, south of Pensacola Bay, on which a company he partly owned held a lease. He introduced and lobbied for the bill's passage in the House without revealing his financial interest, and sold part of his holdings after the measure passed. Failing to disclose ownership of 1,000 shares of Fairchild Industries stock on his mandatory annual financial report for six consecutive years, during which time the congressman voted for a $73 (Continued On Page S-A, Col. 1).