Marcellus Williams is scheduled to be executed Tuesday for the 1998 murder of Lisha Gayle. Both the Missouri governor and Supreme Court rejected his appeals seeking clemency or a delay.
A Missouri man seeking to avoid execution suffered dual setbacks Monday as the state’s top court and governor each rejected requests to cancel his scheduled lethal injection.
The state Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, affirmed a lower court ruling rejecting Williams’ arguments. “Nothing from the real facts of this case have led me to believe in Mr. Williams’ innocence,” Parson said in a statement. “As such, Mr. Williams’ punishment will be carried out as ordered by the Supreme Court.”St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell has sought to set aside Williams' sentence, citing questions about his guilt. He plans to appeal the Missouri Supreme Court ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, spokesman Chris King said.
This marks the third time Williams has faced execution. He was less than a week away from execution in January 2015 when the state Supreme Court called it off, allowing time for his attorneys to pursue additional DNA testing. Without DNA evidence pointing to any alternative suspect, Midwest Innocence Project attorneys reached a compromise with the prosecutor’s office: Williams would enter a new, no-contest plea to first-degree murder in exchange for a new sentence of life in prison without parole.
Hilton ruled on Sept. 12 that the first-degree murder conviction and death sentence would stand, noting that Williams' arguments all had been previously rejected. That decision was upheld Monday by the state Supreme Court.
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