The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to halt the execution of Missouri death row inmate Marcellus Williams, convicted in the 1998 stabbing death of Felicia Gayle in a suburb of St. Louis. Williams, who has consistently maintained his innocence, is scheduled for execution by lethal injection at 6 p.m. CT.
Efforts to prevent the execution were previously rejected by both the Missouri Supreme Court and Republican Governor Mike Parson. Williams’ execution marks the third in Missouri this year and is among five scheduled nationwide within a seven-day period, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson expressed that they would have granted the request to delay the execution.
“Tonight, Missouri will execute an innocent man… The victim’s family opposes his execution. Jurors who originally sentenced him to death now oppose his execution. The prosecutor’s office that convicted and sentenced him to death has now admitted they were wrong and zealously fought to undo the conviction and save Mr. Williams’ life,” stated attorney Tricia Rojo Bushnell of the Midwest Innocence Project. “That is not justice. And we must all question any system that would allow this to occur.”
@CensoredMen (Censored Men)
Twitter Sep 24, 2024 https://x.com/CensoredMen/status/1838719331108077928
Contents
Previous Stays and DNA Evidence
Williams faced execution twice before following his 2001 conviction for Gayle’s murder. In 2015, the Missouri Supreme Court paused execution plans to appoint a special master for reviewing DNA testing on the handle of the butcher knife used to stab Gayle 43 times. Williams’ attorneys reported that DNA experts concluded he was not the source of DNA found on the knife. Despite this, the special master returned the case to the Missouri Supreme Court, leading to a second execution date set for August 2017.
Just hours before that scheduled execution, then-Governor Eric Greitens halted the process and appointed a panel of five retired judges to investigate the DNA evidence. However, this board was dissolved by Governor Parson in June 2023 without issuing a final report.
Prosecutor’s Support and Legal Challenges
Confronted with new DNA evidence and additional information, St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell sought to overturn Williams’ conviction. Bell cited the DNA results and constitutional violations during jury selection as grounds for dismissal. On the eve of an evidentiary hearing, Bell’s office received new test results indicating that DNA on the knife handle matched a prosecutor and a former investigator involved in Williams’ case.
Williams’ attorneys argued that these results confirmed contamination due to mishandling of evidence. Subsequently, Williams and Bell agreed on a no-contest plea to first-degree murder, resulting in a life sentence without parole.
Gayle’s family reportedly did not support executing Williams. In August, a judge approved the agreement, but Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey objected to the plea deal. The Missouri Supreme Court blocked the plan and ordered an evidentiary hearing on Williams’ innocence claims.
During the September hearing, a trial attorney from the 2001 case admitted to removing a Black prospective juror because he resembled Williams but denied racial bias in jury selection. The prosecutor also acknowledged handling the murder weapon without gloves multiple times before the trial, believing the investigation was complete.
Despite the St. Louis Prosecuting Attorney’s Office conceding “constitutional error of mishandling evidence” and presenting “clear and convincing evidence” of constitutional violations, the judge refused to overturn Williams’ conviction and sentence on September 12. The Missouri Supreme Court subsequently denied relief.
Appeals to the Supreme Court and State Opposition
Williams’ lawyers appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, requesting a delay until a decision is made in a similar death penalty case involving Oklahoma inmate Richard Glossip. They argued that Williams’ trial was “riddled with constitutional errors, racism, and bad faith” and that executing him would be an “unthinkable, irreversible travesty.”
State officials opposed the request, accusing Williams of employing delay tactics and asserting that his claims were meritless. “The state of Missouri, crime victims, for whom the case goes on for decades without resolution, and the criminal justice system are all harmed by endless litigation of meritless claims,” Attorney General Bailey wrote in his filing.
Background of the Case
Williams was charged over a year after Gayle’s death. Prosecutors alleged that he broke into her University City home, waited with a butcher knife after hearing water running in the shower, and attacked Gayle when she came downstairs. She was stabbed 43 times, and Williams allegedly left with her purse and her husband’s laptop.
His girlfriend testified that she saw him wearing a jacket on a hot day, noticed blood on his shirt, and observed the stolen items in his possession. Approximately ten months after Gayle’s death, a former cellmate, Henry Cole, claimed Williams confessed to the murder, especially after reward money was offered by Gayle’s family.
A Controversial Execution Amidst Doubt
Despite significant legal battles, questions surrounding DNA evidence, and opposition from both the victim’s family and jurors, Missouri proceeded with the execution of Marcellus Williams. The case highlights ongoing debates over the death penalty, the handling of evidence, and the potential for wrongful convictions within the justice system.
