Missouri's Supreme Court, governor reject calls to stop execution of man convicted for 1998 murder

The Missouri Supreme Court and the state's GOP Gov. Mike Parson each refused requests connected Monday from an inmate attempting to debar his scheduled execution.

Marcellus Williams, 55, is acceptable to beryllium executed by lethal injection Tuesday astatine 6 p.m. successful transportation with the execution of Lisha Gayle, a societal idiosyncratic and erstwhile paper newsman who was stabbed much than 40 times during a burglary astatine her location successful St. Louis successful 1998, according to The Associated Press. Williams has maintained his innocence.

Parson rejected Williams' clemency petition to spare his beingness and alternatively condemnation him to beingness successful prison. The authorities Supreme Court besides rejected a petition for the execution to beryllium halted to let a little tribunal to marque a caller determination astir whether a proceedings authoritative wrongly excluded a imaginable achromatic juror owed to radical bias.

His lawyer argued earlier the authorities Supreme Court astir alleged procedural errors successful assemblage enactment and the prosecution's alleged mishandling of the execution weapon. The court, successful a unanimous decision, affirmed a little tribunal ruling rejecting Williams' claims.

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Marcellus Williams, 55, is acceptable to beryllium executed by lethal injection Tuesday astatine 6 p.m. (Missouri Department of Corrections via AP)

"Despite astir a quarter-century of litigation successful some authorities and national courts, determination is nary credible grounds of existent innocence oregon immoderate showing of a law mistake undermining assurance successful the archetypal judgment," Judge Zel Fischer wrote successful the authorities ruling.

Williams' attorneys person besides made an entreaty earlier the U.S. Supreme Court, which is inactive pending.

Parson said Williams' lawyers received ample ineligible opportunities to effort to marque their client's lawsuit for his innocence. The politician besides claimed Williams' attorneys were trying to "muddy the waters astir DNA evidence" with allegations the courts person already rejected.

"Nothing from the existent facts of this lawsuit person led maine to judge successful Mr. Williams' innocence," Parson said successful a statement. "As such, Mr. Williams’ punishment volition beryllium carried retired arsenic ordered by the Supreme Court."

The politician has ne'er granted clemency successful a decease punishment case.

St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell has looked to acceptable speech Williams' sentence, pointing to questions astir whether helium is guilty. Bell plans to entreaty the Missouri Supreme Court ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, his spokesperson told The Associated Press.

"Even for those who disagree connected the decease penalty, erstwhile determination is simply a shadiness of a uncertainty of immoderate defendant's guilt, the irreversible punishment of execution should not beryllium an option," Bell said successful a statement.

Midwest Innocence Project lawyer Tricia Bushnell said "Missouri is poised to execute an guiltless man, an result that calls into question the legitimacy of the full transgression justness system."

During Williams' original trial, prosecutors claimed helium broke into Gayle's location connected Aug. 11, 1998, heard h2o moving successful the shower, recovered a ample butcher weapon and stabbed her 43 times erstwhile she came downstairs. Gayle's purse and her husband's laptop machine were stolen from the home.

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Joseph Amrine, who was exonerated 2 decades agone aft spending years connected decease row, speaks astatine a rally to enactment Missouri decease enactment inmates Marcellus Williams connected Aug. 21, 2024, successful Clayton, Missouri. (AP)

Williams was accused of stealing a overgarment to conceal humor connected his shirt. Williams' woman asked him wherefore helium would deterioration a overgarment connected a blistery day, and she said she aboriginal noticed the purse and laptop successful his car. Williams sold the machine a time oregon 2 later, his woman said.

Prosecutors besides pointed to grounds from Henry Cole, who shared a compartment with Williams successful 1999 portion Williams was down bars connected unrelated charges. Cole said Williams had confessed to the sidesplitting and offered details astir it.

Williams' execution would beryllium the 3rd Missouri has carried retired truthful acold this twelvemonth and the 100th since the authorities resumed executions successful 1989.

This volition beryllium the 3rd clip Williams was nearing execution.

In January 2015, helium was little than a week distant from execution erstwhile the authorities Supreme Court canceled it to let clip for his attorneys to prosecute further DNA testing.

Williams was conscionable hours distant from being executed successful August 2017 erstwhile then-Republican Gov. Eric Greitens granted a enactment and appointed a sheet of retired judges to analyse the case. The panel, however, ne'er reached a conclusion in the case.

Concerns astir DNA grounds besides prompted Bell to telephone for a proceeding challenging whether Williams was guilty. But days earlier the Aug. 21 hearing, caller investigating revealed that DNA connected the weapon belonged to radical successful the prosecutor's bureau who handled it without gloves pursuing the archetypal tests.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson delivers the State of the State code connected Jan. 18, 2023, successful Jefferson City, Missouri. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

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Without DNA grounds implicating immoderate alternate suspect, Midwest Innocence Project attorneys reached a compromise with the prosecutor's bureau successful which Williams would participate a new, no-contest plea to first-degree execution successful speech for reducing his condemnation to beingness successful situation without parole.

Judge Bruce Hilton and Gayle's household signed disconnected connected the woody but, astatine the petition of Republican Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, the authorities Supreme Court blocked the statement and ordered Hilton to determination guardant with an evidentiary hearing, which was held connected Aug. 28.

The authoritative successful the 2001 execution lawsuit argued astatine the proceeding that the proceedings assemblage was fair, adjacent though it included conscionable 1 achromatic juror. The authoritative said helium removed 1 imaginable achromatic juror successful portion due to the fact that helium looked excessively overmuch similar Williams, which Williams' attorneys accidental showed improper radical bias.

Hilton ruled earlier this period that the first-degree execution condemnation and decease condemnation would stand, highlighting that Williams' arguments had each been antecedently rejected, a ruling that was upheld Monday by the authorities Supreme Court.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.