Who is Marcellus Williams?
Marcellus Williams, 55, has been on death row in Missouri, where he was sentenced to death for the 1998 murder of a former journalist, Felicia Gayle. His case has garnered widespread attention because of consistent claims of innocence and pressing questions about the integrity of his conviction. Williams was sentenced to death in 2001 but has fought in court for over two decades, leading to his scheduled lethal injection execution.
The crime and the conviction
On January 15, 1998, Felicia Gayle was found brutally stabbed to death in her apartment in University City, a suburb of St. Louis. An investigation led police to Williams, who had previous convictions and was arrested shortly after the murder. There wasn’t any forensic evidence that directly linked him to the crime scene, such as DNA or fingerprints; however, Williams was convicted largely based on circumstantial evidence, including items belonging to Gayle found in a vehicle he owned.
Williams always maintained that he was innocent at every court hearing. His sentence was finally confirmed after multiple appeals with pleas of not having a fair hearing.
Appeals and claims of innocence
In recent years, there has been the emergence of vital new evidence that has questioned the strength of the conviction of Williams. His lawyers have concentrated their arguments on a few main areas of focus:
- Racial bias in jury selection: One of the most important arguments comes forth with the fact that Williams’ defense team alleges racial bias in jury selection. The original trial prosecutor testified that he struck one prospective Black juror, in part, because the juror looked like Williams. This awfully sounds wrong because it maintains that racial discrimination was committed under Batson v. Kentucky, which ruled that racial discrimination in jury selection violates the Equal Protection Clause.
- DNA evidence botched: DNA testing done after Williams’ conviction showed he wasn’t there. But second tests showed prosecutors mishandled evidence-by not wearing gloves when touching the murder weapon, which could have contaminated it. This fiasco now has apparently given further discredit to doubts about evidence against Williams.
- Requests for clemency: A litany of human rights groups, including the NAACP and others at a local level, have written to the governor of Missouri, Mike Parson, asking him to grant clemency to Williams. They say it will be a big atrocity to kill an innocent man, citing a proof that even bipartisan support was available for his clemency petition.
Recent developments in the case
Williams is set to be executed by lethal injection on September 24, 2024, at 6 p.m. Central Time. Though the pending execution has been challenged by various appeals and motions for stay citing new evidence and procedural errors at trial, both the Missouri Supreme Court and Governor Parson have declined to intervene.
The Supreme Court of Missouri unanimously refused to stay the execution for lack of proof to substantiate claims of actual innocence or constitutional violations in the trial procedure. This chimes with Governor Parson, who weighed in on the matter, indicating that Williams had availed himself of all procedures at law and expressed confidence in the integrity of the judicial system.
