Mother suffers another delay
Published 12:00 am Wednesday, November 7, 2007
The Selma Times-Journal
After a stay has been placed on the execution of Daniel Lee Siebert for the 1986 murder of Sherri Weathers and her two young sons, the case for Linda Jarman, Weathers’ next-door neighbor who was also killed that night, looks to be moving forward.
The case will be heard by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, where possibly a second execution date will be set, Weathers’ mother, Barbara Harris, said Tuesday.
“We don’t know what’s going to happen when it goes back to the other court. We’ve been to the 11th Circuit so much, we don’t know what to expect. Usually when I [come out[ I’m crying or overjoyed; this time I’m trying to stay reasonable. They may set a date for this year, but I can’t get comfortable until a date is set.”
Daniel Lee Siebert lost an appeal Monday in the U.S. Supreme Court when the court ruled his missed the deadline for challenging his conviction in the Jarman case.
An execution date of Oct. 25 was set for the murders of Weathers and her two sons, but was later blocked in a federal appeals court, according to an Associated Press report.
“There’s still a little bit of hope in that, but we don’t know,” Harris said of the overturned execution date.
Siebert admitted to over 28 murders, Harris said. He then quit acknowledging them to investigators because he ‘couldn’t remember where the people were.’
“21 years we’ve been waiting,” Harris said. “We knew it was going to take a long time going in. But we had no idea it would take nearly a lifetime.”
Harris said she doesn’t believe the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals would be able to overturn a Supreme Court decision, so it would be likely that a second date will be set. But she is not for sure, so she has taken a wait-and-see approach. Siebert could also petition in the Jarman case.
“I was contacted about three hearings today, alone,” she said. “It’s so much.”
Harris said she knows it is hard, not only for the families involved, but also for prosecutors and investigators. And she has faith in the justice system. “We’re ready to close that chapter for good,” Harris said. “We really want to see justice done.”