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Thomas Waldman
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Affiliation
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Attorney General
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Episode Appeared In
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Played By
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Thomas Waldman is the Attorney General for Florida as of 1986. In 1980, while a District Attorney, he successfully prosecuted the Frank Hackman case when he was convicted of murdering Metro-Dade Detective Frankel, based on testimony by Gus Albierro as to Hackman's "intent" (plus a ton of circumstantial evidence), and Hackman was sentenced to the electric chair. In 1986, Waldman was in the midst of a re-election battle for Attorney General against two candidates, one solidly against the death penalty, and during this campaign new information surfaced regarding Hackman's possible innocence, but Waldman outright rejected the report due to someone suddenly coming out of the woodwork shortly before Hackman's death sentence is carried out. Despite objections from James "Sonny" Crockett (Frankel's then-partner and Hackman's arresting officer), Waldman refuses to re-open the case, confident Hackman was guilty of his crimes, later agreeing to re-open if Crockett can find two corroborating witnesses to the confession stating Hackman was in Daytona, not Miami, the night Frankel was killed. Crockett obtained those witness statements, from Albierro and Tommy Barkley, and went over Waldman's head to the Governor to get Hackman pardoned, angering Waldman, who felt Crockett cost him his re-election and his career over the Hackman's case (his statement earlier that if Hackman got out it would be on their hands, a very prophetic statement...)