Bianca Jagger has an op-ed in today's Miami Herald on William "Tommy" Ziegler who has spent 29 Christmases on Florida's death row despite substantial proof of his factual innocence.

Now DNA evidence offers Zeigler the hope of a very different future Christmas. DNA evidence has played a significant role in 14 of the 117 exonerations from U.S. Death Rows. Such evidence is vital, especially in Florida, which -- according to the Death Penalty Information Center in Washington, D.C. -- has had 21 people found innocent on its Death Row, more than any other state.

Lawson Lamar, the state attorney in Zeigler's death-penalty case, fought for years to prevent DNA testing of the crime-scene blood. In August 2001, the court ordered the tests. The results, which were reported in June 2002, hopelessly devastate the state's theory of Zeigler's culpability. The results completely support Zeigler's innocence.

Yet, the state still refuses to agree to a new trial. Bianca, who has been a committed human rights activist for years, writes: