A Missouri death row inmate scheduled to be executed in less than a week is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene. CNN reported that Marcellus Williams55, was convicted of first-degree murder in 2001 for stabbing Felicia Gayle to death at her home in 1998.
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Missouri death row inmate requests stay of execution
Despite the conviction, Marcellus Williams has always maintained his innocence in the murder of Felicia Gayle. Additionally, the U.S. Supreme Court argued that Williams faced unfair treatment of his legal rights during the lengthy process to stop his execution.
However, if the government does finalize its decision to execute Williams, he will be given a lethal injection on September 24. According to APThis would be the third execution in Missouri this year and the 14th nationwide.
The NAACP is urging Governor Michael Parson to stop Marcellus’ execution, highlighting the historic racial disparities of the death penalty, especially in Missouri.
“The killing of Mr. Williams, a black man wrongly convicted of killing a white woman, would be a terrible miscarriage of justice and a continuation of Missouri’s worst past,” NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson and Missouri State Conference President Nimrod Chapel Jr. wrote in a letter to Parson.
Earlier this year, the St. Louis Attorney’s Office noted that Marcellus’ original trial had constitutional flaws, including the exclusion of a black juror based on race.
According to CNN, Williams’ attorney pointed out that former Missouri Governor Eric Greitens had indefinitely postponed his execution and established a panel to investigate his case for possible clemency.
“The Governor’s actions violated Williams’ constitutional rights and created an urgent need that required the Court’s attention,” court documents state.
More details on the Marcellus Williams case
Police had no leads for 10 months after Felicia Gayle’s death until her husband, Dr. Daniel Picus, offered a $10,000 reward. Henry Cole then contacted authorities, claiming Marcellus had confessed to the murder while they were in custody together.
The Missouri Independence noted that the prosecution used unreliable informant testimony and circumstantial evidence against Marcellus Williams.
The newspaper revealed that months later, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported on the arrest of Laura Asaro on prostitution charges. She claimed to have information about Gayle’s murder but later said she was trying to evade arrest. After learning about the reward, she implicated Marcellus.
AP claims that District Attorney Wesley Bell challenged DNA evidence on the murder weapon while seeking a hearing on Marcellus’ guilt. He claimed that the butcher knife used to kill Felicia Galye had DNA from someone else, not Williams.
Marcellus and Bell’s lawyers argued that mishandling the contaminated weapon concealed crucial DNA evidence that could have helped exonerate him.
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