Manipulative, self-pitying liar. Extremely unlikable. I watch a lot of Innocence Project-type shows and always go in with a great deal of sympathy for both sides, but this man managed to become more reprehensible with every episode. Finds ways to totally justify his horrible actions and the entire show was infuriating to watch. Very bad example of someone getting a rare second chance - and I know all the ways the justice system can be awful. I could not STAND this man. I was curious by the end.
55 Reviews
Hard to rate
gallagherkellie30 August 2020
Warning: Spoilers
The actual documentary making was well done, I would have given it a 7. But it's so hard to do that when the man it was focusing on is so blatantly homophobic. Episodes 1 and 2 had me thinking he had done him time and was a changed man. Then episode 3 changed all of that. Just wow...even the old lady's grandson shocked me. Who are these horrible people??
Was on the fence about his pyschopathy but one detail gave it away.
mrdealexander4 September 2020
Oh so you never thought you'd get out of jail? But when you are released, for the cameras, you then say, you "dreamed" of this day since you came to jail.
Does not compute.
Let's not even go into the general sense of ill-feeling you get when you observe this man, the dead eyes, the nonchalant attitude as he eats his food in the first episode. The ill-timed and contrived emotional displays. Bah.
Does not compute.
Let's not even go into the general sense of ill-feeling you get when you observe this man, the dead eyes, the nonchalant attitude as he eats his food in the first episode. The ill-timed and contrived emotional displays. Bah.
Painful
lashleyfranklin1 September 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Not only was this painfully boring, but my heart breaks for the family of the victim who now has the killer of their loved one free and living a full life: living alone, working on a farm, and even leading a church. And to add salt to their wound, he is now defaming the innocent victim who lost his life 30 years ago. The killer has now changed his motive and is using the gay panic defense to justify his act, only adding to the pain of the family who lost him. He even says "I may be a murderer, but I AM NOT a homosexual. As if being gay were worse than being a murderer. Do the victim's family a favor and don't watch this nonsense.
Made me so angry watching this
kpedkim-5251430 August 2020
Not recommended
dratm31 August 2020
Well maybe I'm a bit harsh but there is no real story in this Netflix new documentary.
What you see in the first 5 minutes is almost everything.
3 episodes that should have at most take 5 minutes in a TV news report.
Sad for the family of the victim not sure why from the first place a convicted murderer gets the opportunity to give us his agenda and as written above no real story or drama behind it.
Don't watch there are better things to do with your time.
Such ignorance
akimon729 August 2020
Released due to a change of law.
carldenton25 March 2022
I'm always fascinated by stories like this. You will see this man change and his arrogance shines. He would not be free if justice had been served. The victim is always forgotten, why? Because they are no longer with us and cannot defend themselves. Religion is used as a cruch in prison and this man has milked it. HE'S FREE and it's wrong, so wrong.
A Miscarriage of Justice
hef95130 August 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Killer, takes the life of John W. Zeltner, in a cruel and heinous crime. After 30 years of incarceration the Killer, is released through a fluke of the Texas, justice system. Killer, after release on parole, decides to murder victim's reputation. Killer shows regret but absolutely no remorse. This documentary is almost an accomplice to the second crime of destroying the, forever silent, victim's character. Killer, should be retried for a hate crime, and when convicted, finish his prison sentence with no more self-serving excuses. Documentary is just OK but much too long.
Mixed feelings
g_alex-876913 September 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Well first of all I wanna say that in my opinion people do deserve a second chance with some exceptions of course. I don't know if a serial killer or a pedophile deserves a second chance f.e.
When I started watching this I felt real sympathy for this guy. He was really young when he commited the crime, he messed up with drugs, he probably didn't have any real friends and his family didn't really stand up for him. I highly doubt that his mind was clear back then and that he was aware of his actions. I remember myself when I was 21 and I am a totally different person now that I am way older. My way of thinking is totally different. So why would I doubt that a 21 year old kid has changed after 30 whole years? I think the authorities did the right thing releasing him in the first place.
However, from the end of episode 2 until the end, I cannot hide that I have second thoughts. I suddenly saw a guy in front of me that wanted to make us believe something that isn't that believable... Why would you make the victim look so bad after 30 years of silence?? It makes no sense. Even if it is true. Just keep it for yourself. You are out of prison now. Also the movements of his face when he describes what happened, the way he quickly explains it to the grandchildren of the old lady like he is reading a book, the fact that he is playing with his fingers while he is doing it. I am sorry to say it but I think that he is either lying or manipulating his new story or hiding something. Why he decided to tell this story? Don't know. Maybe because now that he is out of prison he wants people to like him and see him as the victim so that he has more chances in his new life like get a job more easily etc.
For me there are actually three scenarios of what really happened:
1. He was a drug addict and a troubled kid with no money in his pocket so he just robbed the place and killed the employee. This is what he was convicted for but there are some questions about it. Why did he choose a place where the employee knew who he was? Why did he shoot him 6 times? He wanted to kill someone he knew for 400 bucks? He wanted someone to listen to 6 gunshots and come to the rescue? Doesn't really make sense but someone could say that he just didn't know what he was doing. 2. The story he is actually telling after 30 years. The guy blackmailed him because he wanted an affair with him and he had to kill him. Then he took the 400 bucks so that it seems like a robbery. The prosecutor is right. You become a killer because someone is threatening you to tell everyone that you are a homosexual when you are actually not? Doesn't really make sense. It is not like he is blackmailing you for money. He was having a shower in the victim's house and went to bed? Weird. And why did it have to seem like a robbery in the first place? This scenario is leaking. 3. They were actually both homosexual and they were having an affair. Things didn't go well, maybe one of them tried to break up with the other. They decided to talk and sort things out, it didn't go well so the guy kills him. Then he takes the money to make it look like a robbery because he didn't want to reveal that he killed him for a sexual affair gone wrong. This justifies the cruelty of the murder. Also explains the fact he was having a shower and sleeping in the victims house. Also that friend of him back then says that he sometimes thought that he was a homosexual because he was hanging out in places with a lot of homosexuals. Actually in the end of episode 2 I thought he would admit that he is a homosexual and he was having an affair with the victim but then in episode 3 followed scenario 2.
In my opinion scenario 3 if the most solid one. I am not saying it is 100% what happened. If it is though this guy still finds it hard to face and confess the truth and that is why he makes up scenario 2. While doing this though he is again killing the victim and that shows that he is not the good christian that he says he is and as an outcome not fully rehabilitated. Same I can say if scenario 1 actually happened. Not fully rehabilitated.
In my opinion, authoritites must keep a close eye on him because his integrity for me is highly questionable after all these.
I hope the best for the old lady and her relatives.
When I started watching this I felt real sympathy for this guy. He was really young when he commited the crime, he messed up with drugs, he probably didn't have any real friends and his family didn't really stand up for him. I highly doubt that his mind was clear back then and that he was aware of his actions. I remember myself when I was 21 and I am a totally different person now that I am way older. My way of thinking is totally different. So why would I doubt that a 21 year old kid has changed after 30 whole years? I think the authorities did the right thing releasing him in the first place.
However, from the end of episode 2 until the end, I cannot hide that I have second thoughts. I suddenly saw a guy in front of me that wanted to make us believe something that isn't that believable... Why would you make the victim look so bad after 30 years of silence?? It makes no sense. Even if it is true. Just keep it for yourself. You are out of prison now. Also the movements of his face when he describes what happened, the way he quickly explains it to the grandchildren of the old lady like he is reading a book, the fact that he is playing with his fingers while he is doing it. I am sorry to say it but I think that he is either lying or manipulating his new story or hiding something. Why he decided to tell this story? Don't know. Maybe because now that he is out of prison he wants people to like him and see him as the victim so that he has more chances in his new life like get a job more easily etc.
For me there are actually three scenarios of what really happened:
1. He was a drug addict and a troubled kid with no money in his pocket so he just robbed the place and killed the employee. This is what he was convicted for but there are some questions about it. Why did he choose a place where the employee knew who he was? Why did he shoot him 6 times? He wanted to kill someone he knew for 400 bucks? He wanted someone to listen to 6 gunshots and come to the rescue? Doesn't really make sense but someone could say that he just didn't know what he was doing. 2. The story he is actually telling after 30 years. The guy blackmailed him because he wanted an affair with him and he had to kill him. Then he took the 400 bucks so that it seems like a robbery. The prosecutor is right. You become a killer because someone is threatening you to tell everyone that you are a homosexual when you are actually not? Doesn't really make sense. It is not like he is blackmailing you for money. He was having a shower in the victim's house and went to bed? Weird. And why did it have to seem like a robbery in the first place? This scenario is leaking. 3. They were actually both homosexual and they were having an affair. Things didn't go well, maybe one of them tried to break up with the other. They decided to talk and sort things out, it didn't go well so the guy kills him. Then he takes the money to make it look like a robbery because he didn't want to reveal that he killed him for a sexual affair gone wrong. This justifies the cruelty of the murder. Also explains the fact he was having a shower and sleeping in the victims house. Also that friend of him back then says that he sometimes thought that he was a homosexual because he was hanging out in places with a lot of homosexuals. Actually in the end of episode 2 I thought he would admit that he is a homosexual and he was having an affair with the victim but then in episode 3 followed scenario 2.
In my opinion scenario 3 if the most solid one. I am not saying it is 100% what happened. If it is though this guy still finds it hard to face and confess the truth and that is why he makes up scenario 2. While doing this though he is again killing the victim and that shows that he is not the good christian that he says he is and as an outcome not fully rehabilitated. Same I can say if scenario 1 actually happened. Not fully rehabilitated.
In my opinion, authoritites must keep a close eye on him because his integrity for me is highly questionable after all these.
I hope the best for the old lady and her relatives.
So contradictory
alexahorness30 August 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Horrible. Slow moving. This man wants fame. Nobody mentions anything about his crime being a blatant hate crime.. this man claims to be a man of God, and how he found God in the first 3 years of his sentencing- yet 30 years later he wants to come out with the "truth" (blaming everyone- the victim, his attorney) anyone but himself. A true man of God who was humble would have come forward about that earlier. He contradicts himself constantly and victimizes himself immediately after talking about the life he's taken (the real victim).
All in all, the story is not only horrible and slow, it's pathetic, forced and seems to be false. I wasted 100 minutes of my life for a poorly done documentary. I have always considered Netflix documentaries to be superior to the rest, especially the murder documentaries. This was poorly done, anticlimactic, and unorganized.
All in all, the story is not only horrible and slow, it's pathetic, forced and seems to be false. I wasted 100 minutes of my life for a poorly done documentary. I have always considered Netflix documentaries to be superior to the rest, especially the murder documentaries. This was poorly done, anticlimactic, and unorganized.
Skeptical
ejhorne12 September 2022
Wow. Good documentary work. Kudos to the director. I'm a Christian and am all onboard with forgiveness under even the toughest situations. As an opponent to the death penalty, I'm glad Dale Wayne Sigler was spared execution, but after hearing his story, based on his lack of remorse, I'm not convinced he should have been released from prison or that he appreciates the gravity of what he did in murdering John Zeltner. He struck me as one of the many who was imprisoned and found God. I don't doubt prison conversions, as all who become Christians had a past. What I find difficult to reconcile is what I perceived as Sigler having an attitude of I've overcome and am fully forgiven regardless of who might think differently, yet he has unfinished business with John's family (I get that he can't contact them). I also see him as being (or attempting to be) highly manipulative, particularly with Carole Whitworth and her church members. What just blew me away was this whole new story about why he allegedly killed John. The whole story reeks of gaslighting in a feeble attempt to mitigate his reasoning for murdering a man in cold blood, particularly when if it had a scintilla of truth, surely he would have used it at trial. It's pretty easy, convenient, irrefutable and disgusting to concoct a story which negatively portrays a murder victim as a villain when even Sigler's own friend remarked that he took them around gay men. I believe that he had a sexual relationship with John. Maybe Sigler can't forgive himself because he can't tell himself the truth. I pray that he'll do better, get some therapy, tell the truth and actually be able to forgive himself, let God really make something positive of his life, and somehow, someday make amends to John's family. We all have work that we need to do. That is his.
Pointless
SurfGuard1 September 2020
Although I was interested in the story of Dale Sigler and the murder he committed, I found that the documentary fails to make a point. It just shows what happened and what Sigler and the prosecutors and the victim's relatives say. But what does the series want to tell us? You don't need to take sides to have a point of view, and this series does not.
One thing that made me angry even is when the "great revelation" of Sigler telling a different version of his motive for the murder was kept from the viewers until the end of episode 2 (of 3). And that's despite the fact that at the time of the filming this changed statement was already known.
This documentary doesn't bore but it left me shrugging my shoulders.
One thing that made me angry even is when the "great revelation" of Sigler telling a different version of his motive for the murder was kept from the viewers until the end of episode 2 (of 3). And that's despite the fact that at the time of the filming this changed statement was already known.
This documentary doesn't bore but it left me shrugging my shoulders.
Murderer playing the victim
japped4 September 2020
In the first episode, it was clear that this guy takes no responsibility for the murder. I was screaming at the tv, you are not the victim! As the episodes go along, he shows more and more that he has no remorse and even goes into victim blaming. Even when he 'acts" sad about the murder it is always in the context of how much it has affected him not anything about John. There are also some cringe worthy moments with society in Texas. If you like to watch narcissist and liars you, this one will keep you entertained. He should have been kept in jail or at least not been given a platform.
Man. The reviewers here...
richardrc-185969 February 2023
Good god. I better watch what I say or the site will censor and reject it. The reviewers giving this a 1 are def not Christians or if they are they they are the crazy Christian better than other nuts. There's a thing called redemption and forgiveness. In fact, it is a foundation of being a Christian. One of Jesus core principals. This guy admits to the murder. Every day it seems. Says what he did was wrong. And wants forgiveness. Just give him a chance he says. What else is needed? Him changing the motive is irrelevant. He killed someone. Don't start with the hate crime garbage made up by the DNC and their stooges. Is he still a threat to society, is he truly sorry, and should he be redeemed? I have seen no evidence while watching this saying he isn't.
With that said, I do believe it is idiotic he got out on a technicality. That is dumb and bad criminal justice but don't blame this dude, blame the lawmakers in Texas. Their laws and their loopholes. It's funny seeing the lawmen keep defending the state and not even acknowledge him saying he is sorry or admitting fault. I suppose for legal reasons and to prevent being sued they have too. Finally, if I was one of the brothers, I doubt I would forgive or if so it would be extremely difficult too.
I could go on and on, but I'll stop. Requirement met.
With that said, I do believe it is idiotic he got out on a technicality. That is dumb and bad criminal justice but don't blame this dude, blame the lawmakers in Texas. Their laws and their loopholes. It's funny seeing the lawmen keep defending the state and not even acknowledge him saying he is sorry or admitting fault. I suppose for legal reasons and to prevent being sued they have too. Finally, if I was one of the brothers, I doubt I would forgive or if so it would be extremely difficult too.
I could go on and on, but I'll stop. Requirement met.
undecided
Calicodreamin29 August 2020
I am undecided how i feel about this show, while it was certainly an interesting look into the life of a released convicted criminal and their integration into society, there were some muddy waters around episode three. It was an interesting decision to place so much focus on Sigler coming out with a motivation, 30 years later. The show was well edited, good cinematography and visuals.
This dude should be in prison or death row for the hate crime he committed! What the hell?
sofagirlsalome3 September 2020
How is this manipulative self-centered awful human out of prison? He obviously committed a hate crime, he is a whining professional victim. He will be a repeat offender. How could they let him out of prison? This is a terrible show to glamorize this guy who should be in prison. Forever.
He want you to feel sorry for him but this is a genuine psychopath. Come on he is so transparent!
He want you to feel sorry for him but this is a genuine psychopath. Come on he is so transparent!
Wow - this is a tricky one
annakillick28 August 2020
Most of us hate murderers but some of us love a good redemption story.
Sigler is one of only 7 Texan death row inmates to ever be released early.
He claims to be a changed man and I would say, yes, he really has made some huge changes - but absolutely nothing can even begin to excuse some of the reasons he felt he had to do what he had to do.
I think there is a lot of healing that needs to take place in his life and hopefully in the lives of the victim's family.
Liar, Manipulative, Narcissistic; Psychopath!
karenspassions30 August 2020
Very Good Watch
alfiebsmith21 January 2021
A**hole.
lynnhanson-219693 January 2023
Warning: Spoilers
So, he gets to change his story, live in Texas, drive a truck, LEAD A CHURCH and Johnny is sox feet under. The nice Carol......hope she kicks him out and gets an RO. Seriously, the two brothers of the victim were so nice. "Drinking a Keystone!" One shot, fine. But six? He struck me as a bully who intimidated people with his size and could not accept he was gay. Now he gets to be all judgy and God Squad like? I want him to work at Subway until the sun burns out. When he said he would have been chasing after Carol in high achool I was like no you would have been hot for her brother dumba**. Great quock binge.
A killer psycho who is still a danger!
lauramcgaffey31 August 2020
You only need to watch episode 3 to see him (1) blame his victim and feel justified in killing him, (2) talk like 30 years in prison was overkill, (3) show clear signs in body language, tone of voice, and word choice when answering questions that he will easily kill again and feel justified.
Not fair
yayatisha6 September 2020
This is the most insane documentary. He does not deserve to be out. He is a murderer who is changing his story now. This story made me feel ill. He said I own who I am when I am that's a lie. Not until this documentary came out he changed his story. That poor lady better get her a part time job to feed that man because she's gonna need the extra money.
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