The execution of Marcellus Williams is scheduled for Tuesday following rejections of pleas to halt the procedure by both the Missouri Supreme Court and the state’s governor.
Williams’ attorney argued on Monday that the lethal injection should be stopped due to alleged racial bias in jury selection, claiming that the trial attorney prevented a Black potential juror from serving on the jury based on his similarity to the defendant. However, the court dismissed this argument, stating, “Despite nearly a quarter century of litigation in both state and federal courts, there is no credible evidence of actual innocence or any showing of a constitutional error undermining confidence in the original judgment.”
Williams is set to be executed at 6 p.m. CT on Tuesday for the 1998 murder of Lisha Gayle in University City, a suburb of St. Louis. At 55, Williams maintains his innocence, but his attorney opted not to pursue that claim in court, instead addressing procedural errors and allegations of mishandling evidence by the prosecution.
Attorney Jonathan Potts urged the state Supreme Court to rectify what he described as an injustice by either recognizing that a prosecutor improperly excluded a juror based on race or by remanding the case for further examination. Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s office has insisted that the execution move forward, contending that the trial prosecutor acted lawfully and without racial motivations.
Governor Mike Parson, who received a clemency request from Williams, stated the execution would carry on after the Supreme Court’s ruling. He emphasized the difficulty of capital punishment cases but underscored his trust in the judicial system, stating that Williams has exhausted every legal recourse without finding merit in his claims of innocence.
Critics, including the NAACP, have argued against the execution, citing concerns about the legitimacy of the judicial process. Tricia Rojo Bushnell, executive director of the Midwest Innocence Project, described the impending execution as a serious injustice, especially with recent revelations alleging racial discrimination in juror selection and opposition from the victim’s family regarding the execution.
Williams’ legal team submitted a new appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, asking to pause his execution until a related case is determined. This request hinges on parallels to the case of Richard Glossip, who remains on death row in Oklahoma as legal proceedings unfold regarding his conviction.
If carried out, this execution would mark Missouri’s third of the year and the 100th since the state resumed capital punishment in 1989. Williams narrowly avoided execution in January 2015 and just hours before a scheduled execution in August 2017 due to new DNA evidence that did not link him to the murder weapon, leading to a push for further investigation.
Despite attempts from St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell to challenge Williams’ guilt based on DNA evidence questions, recent findings showed that evidence had been compromised before trial. Following a hearing, the Missouri Supreme Court upheld the original first-degree murder conviction and death sentence.
On Tuesday, Williams’ attorney contended that the circumstances have shifted because the trial prosecutor had not been previously questioned in court regarding the juror removal. However, the state Supreme Court maintained that the prosecutor definitively denied any racial motivations for striking the juror in question.
Bell reiterated concerns about Williams’ conviction, stating that for those who oppose the death penalty, execution should not be considered when doubts about a defendant’s guilt exist. Prosecutors at Williams’ original trial portrayed him as having entered Gayle’s home and committed the brutal murder, contending that he later attempted to conceal evidence of the crime.