- The Verdict - Page 225

Testimony required less than an hour. Earlier, Judge Paul had ordered Hadley to limit his character witnesses—a decision that would become worth at least six years of life for Zeigler. Eagan called no witnesses. Hadley's one character witness was Zeigler's Baptist pastor, Fay De Sha, who said that he had known the family since 1966. He said that Tommy and Eunice attended services, belonged to church committees, and sang together in the choir, and that Tommy had often operated the sound mixer for the church's Sunday morning radio broadcast.

Eunice always sat at Tommy's side while he ran the radio equipment, De Sha said. Eunice played the piano in the church, he said, and Tommy always came down and sat about two rows back, to listen to her.

The only other witness was Allen Zimmer, the psychiatrist who was now allowed to testify to his examination of Zeigler.

Zeigler, he said, was "raised in an environment where he had established tremendous self-control, where he had been able to develop within himself control over his behavior in such a way that he did not express outward emotion. What emotions were there were all kept within....

"He was the type of individual who was extremely compassionate...he had tremendous feeling for people and peoples. One of the characteristics of Tommy Zeigler that was extremely impressive to me were his loyalties, loyalties to individuals who he became close to. This was manifested by the fact that he had respect for members of his family including his wife and in-laws and people close to him."

The jury deliberated less than twenty-five minutes before returning an advisory sentence of life in prison.

At Hadley's request, Paul now brought several members of the jury, individually, to be questioned in his chambers. He was inquiring about two minor allegations of misconduct—during the trial, Peggy Dollinger had brought a newspaper into the jury room, and Leatrice Williams was believed to have overheard a reporter's unflattering remark about Zeigler. But most important, Hadley wanted him to ask Irma Brickle about her claim that jury members had made up their minds prematurely.

Zeigler was barred from this proceeding.

Paul seemed hesitant as he asked Brickle to explain the notes she had sent during the deliberations.

Q (Paul): ...I was wondering if you wish to make any further elaboration about, you know, what you may have said or if you feel that—whatever. I don't want to put words in your mouth. We just want to make sure there was a good jury in the sense that everyone—