The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office is planning to appeal a judge’s decision that upheld the conviction and death penalty for Marcellus Williams. The appeal to the Missouri Supreme Court comes as Williams’ execution is scheduled for one week from now. The appeal notice filed on Monday did not outline the specific grounds for the appeal.
On another front, Williams’ attorneys have submitted a clemency petition to Governor Mike Parson, stressing the opposition to the execution from relatives of the victim, Lisha Gayle. Williams, aged 55, faces execution by injection on September 24 for the 1998 stabbing death of Gayle in University City, Missouri.
St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell had raised concerns about DNA evidence on the murder weapon, indicating the presence of someone else’s DNA on the knife but not that of Williams. However, new testing revealed that the DNA evidence was tainted because individuals from the prosecutor’s office had handled the knife without gloves ahead of the original trial in 2001.
Following the compromised DNA evidence situation, Williams had agreed to enter a no-contest plea to first-degree murder in exchange for a new sentence of life in prison without parole. Despite the agreement, the Missouri Supreme Court, at the insistence of Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey, intervened and directed for an evidentiary hearing to proceed. Subsequently, Judge Bruce Hilton ruled on September 12 to uphold the first-degree murder conviction and death sentence for Williams.
The clemency petition submitted by the Midwest Innocence Project urges Governor Parson to spare Williams’ life, highlighting the family of the victim’s desire for a commuted sentence to life without parole. While Parson has not granted clemency in his tenure, a decision is expected to be announced closer to the execution date.
During the legal proceedings, Assistant Attorney General Michael Spillane argued that despite the issues with DNA evidence, there were other compelling pieces of evidence pointing to Williams’ guilt. Prosecutors at the original trial asserted that Williams broke into Gayle’s residence, stabbed her multiple times, and stole items before attempting to conceal evidence.
This case has attracted significant attention and a petition on change.org has garnered over 525,000 signatures urging a halt to the execution of Marcellus Williams.