The execution of Marcellus Williams is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, following rejections from both the Missouri Supreme Court and Governor Mike Parson to halt the procedure.
Williams’ attorney contended that the lethal injection should be paused due to allegations of racial bias in jury selection, specifically citing the exclusion of a Black juror who resembled the defendant. However, the court dismissed these claims, stating that after nearly 25 years of litigation, there was no credible evidence proving actual innocence or significant constitutional errors that would undermine the original judgment.
Williams, 55, is set to be executed at 6 p.m. CT for the 1998 stabbing of Lisha Gayle in University City, a suburb of St. Louis. He maintains his innocence, yet his legal team approached the state Supreme Court on procedural errors related to jury selection rather than asserting his innocence outright.
Attorney Jonathan Potts argued that the court should remedy an injustice stemming from a prosecutorial decision to exclude a potential juror based on race. Nonetheless, the Missouri Attorney General’s office has been advocating for the execution to proceed. The trial prosecutor denied any racial motives for excluding jurors, emphasizing that the handling of the murder weapon adhered to the standards practiced at that time.
Williams had sought clemency from Governor Parson, primarily appealing to the wishes of Gayle’s relatives, who desired a commutation to life imprisonment without parole. However, Parson affirmed that the execution would move forward, referencing the lengthy legal battle which Williams has pursued to argue his innocence, stating that no court had ever validated these claims.
Parson, who has presided over 11 executions without granting clemency, acknowledged the complexity of capital punishment cases but emphasized his adherence to the law and trust in the judicial system. Opponents of the execution, including the NAACP, have raised concerns regarding Williams’ potential innocence, stating that executing him would cast doubt on the integrity of the criminal justice system.
In a recent filing, Williams’ legal team sought a stay from the U.S. Supreme Court, linking his case to that of Richard Glossip, who remains on death row in Oklahoma due to similar procedural issues.
Williams’ case has seen multiple critical junctures, including a last-minute stay from the Missouri Supreme Court in January 2015 to allow further DNA testing, alongside a stay from then-Governor Eric Greitens in August 2017 after DNA evidence showed no trace of Williams’ DNA on the murder weapon.
Earlier this year, questions surrounding DNA evidence prompted St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell to seek a hearing on Williams’ conviction. However, new testing revealed contamination of the evidence. The Missouri Supreme Court later ruled that the DNA testing weakened the claims of actual innocence and affirmed that Williams’ guilty verdict and death sentence would remain intact.
As the execution looms, Williams’ attorney highlighted that the trial prosecutor had not been adequately questioned under oath regarding juror selection, leading to calls for greater scrutiny of the jury’s fairness. Despite previous affirmations that the jury selection was valid, the case continues to raise issues about racial bias and the integrity of the judicial process in capital cases.
The upcoming execution marks Missouri’s third this year and the 100th since the state resumed executions in 1989. The complexity and controversy surrounding Williams’ conviction encapsulate broader concerns about fairness and justice within the capital punishment system.