Joseph Zieler sentenced to death following 10-2 jury recommendation.
Joseph Zieler is one of the first people sentenced to death under Florida's new capital sentencing statute. Also, Zieler struck his attorney in the courtroom.
Earlier this year, Joseph Zieler was tried in Lee County for two counts of first-degree murder related to crimes that occurred decades ago. In May, the jury convicted Zieler on both counts.
The trial judge applied the new capital sentencing statute. On May 24, a Lee County jury voted 10-2 to recommend a sentence of death for both counts.
The defense filed a motion for new trial on June 2, 2023, and also other motions since the trial. Yesterday, the trial court held a hearing on Zieler’s pending motions, all of which were denied. Later, the Court held Zieler’s sentencing.
Zieler Elbows Defense Attorney in Court
Ahead of his sentencing, Zieler attacked his attorney in the courtroom. He called his attorney over to speak to him, bent over in what looked like an attempt to speak with him, and then swung his arm around and elbowed the attorney in the face. NBC posted a video on Twitter here.
Bailiffs immediately tackled Zieler to the ground and escorted him out of the courtroom. In response to the attack, Zieler’s attorney said, “I’m fine. I used to box. I’ve taken a lot better shots than that.”
According to the Fort Myers News-Press, Zieler returned to the courtroom and “continued to growl and show his teeth, which appeared to have the word "killer" scribbled on them.”
News articles:
Zieler Sentenced to Death
The sentencing hearing proceeded Monday afternoon. According to one news article, the trial court heard testimony from six witnesses. The article reports that “Zieler . . . refused to have his relatives speak” and claimed his innocence.
After testimony, the judge sentenced Zieler to death, entering an 18-page Sentencing Order. The court “assign[ed] great weight to the jury’s verdict,” which is consistent with Florida caselaw.
The trial court found that four aggravating factors were proven beyond a reasonable doubt for both murders:
The defendant was previously convicted of a felony involving the use or threat of violence to the person (great weight).
The capital felony was committed while the defendant was engaged in the commission of a burglary (great weight).
The capital felonies were especially heinous, atrocious, and cruel (“HAC”) (great weight).
The capital felonies were homicides committed in a cold, calculated, and premeditated manner (“CCP”) without any pretense of moral or legal justification (great weight).
As to statutory mitigation, the trial court found that the evidence did not support any of the three mitigating circumstances presented:
That the capital felony was committed while under the influence of extreme mental or emotional disturbance;
That “[t]he capacity of the defendant to appreciate the criminality of [his] conduct or to conform [his] conduct to the requirements of law was substantially impaired”; and
The defendant’s age at the time of the crime because Zieler was 28 at the time of the crime.
Interestingly, the Sentencing Order later states that “[n]o statutory mitigating factors were raised or established . . . .”
As to nonstatutory mitigation, the trial court found that the following mitigating circumstances were established by the greater weight of the evidence and assigned them the noted weights:
Zieler suffers from anxiety (minimal weight);
Zieler suffers from symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, including a neurocognitive disorder, tremors, memory loss, and head jerking (minimal weight);
Zieler sustained a traumatic closed-head injury as a result of a severe motorcycle accident (moderate weight);
Zieler sustained a right leg fracture and a “degloving” injury to his foot (no weight);
Zieler has a neurodegenerative disorder, manifesting in mildly reduced uptake in the bilateral frontal lobes, which raises the possibility of frontotemporal dementia per FDG PET Scan (minimal weight);
Zieler suffers from vascular disease (no weight);
Zieler has a history of traumatic brain injury (minimal weight);
Zieler has been diagnosed with cognitive impairment, manifesting as a borderline score on processing speed (minimal weight);
Zieler was diagnosed with adjustment disorder with a depressed mood (minimal weight);
Zieler was diagnosed with an amnestic disorder (minimal weight);
Zieler has strengths in testing, with variable performance (minimal weight);
Zieler exhibits significant weakness in conceptual shifting (minimal weight);
Zieler falls in the low average to the average range of intellectual ability (minimal weight);
Zieler suffers from adaptive functioning deficits (no weight);
Zieler had symptoms of inattention during middle school, which resulted in poor grades (no weight);
Zieler had good attendance at school (no weight);
Zieler did not graduate high school and had a 10th grade education (no weight);
Zieler was exposed to drugs at an early age and was smoking marijuana when he was nine years old (no weight);
Zieler sustained head trauma as a child when he slipped on ice, which resulted in a scar and permanent lump on the back of his head (minimal weight);
Zieler has witnessed domestic violence between his father and mother (minimal weight);
Zieler was physically and emotionally neglected by his parents as a child growing up (minimal weight);
Zieler was physically and verbally abused by his father (minimal weight);
Zieler witnessed his father’s physical and verbal abuse of his brothers (minimal weight);
Zieler often sought refuge at the home of his maternal grandmother after school to avoid his father’s abuse (minimal weight);
Zieler’s father relocated the family to the town of Palos Hills, which was farther away from his grandmother, preventing Zieler from going to her home and avoiding his abusive home environment (minimal weight);
Zieler never received grief counseling or other services after the loss of his maternal grandmother, mother, and other close relatives (minimal weight);
Zieler became a father at 21 years of age when his eldest son was born (no weight);
Zieler has low self-esteem (no weight);
Zieler told Bonnie not to worry about visitation to take the stress off of her (moderate weight); and
Zieler cooperated with law enforcement and did not resist them (minimal weight).
Several other mitigating circumstances were submitted, which the Court found were not established.
After weighing the aggravation and mitigation, the Court determined that there was “no basis to override the jury’s” recommendation for death.
Zieler is one of the first to be sentenced to death under Florida’s new capital sentencing statute.1
News articles:
Prior TFDP Coverage of Zieler’s Case
The jury’s recommendation for death by a vote of 10-2 was mentioned here.