Court sets execution date for a man who even prosecutors say is innocent
Kit Roberts
Featured Image Credit: Missourians to Abolish the Death Penalty / Per-Anders Pettersson/Liaison/Getty
A man who has been sentenced to death in Missouri is not guilty of the crimes he is being sentenced for, prosecutors have said.
Marcellus Williams has now had his execution date set, despite the people who are prosecuting him insisting that he is innocent.
Williams was originally convicted in 1998, and was accused of breaking into the home of social worker Lisha Gayle.
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At the time, prosecutors alleged that Williams heard that the shower was running, found a butcher's knife, and stabbed Gayle 43 times when she emerged from the bathroom, according to a report from KSDK.
Williams has always maintained his innocence following his conviction.
The 55-year-old has previously had two separate executions scheduled, but they were halted on both occasions. This was to allow the court to further investigate the matter, including examining DNA evidence.
The conclusion of the investigation, which included DNA samples from the murder weapon, indicated that he did not commit the crime.
But despite this new evidence emerging following the investigation, Republican governor of Missouri Mike Parson has refused to remove the death sentence - which is now set for September 24, 2024 at 6pm.
This means if the execution goes ahead, Williams could be killed by the state for a crime he did not commit.
Governor Parson lifted a stay of execution last June, saying that another six-year stay of execution would leave the family of the victim in 'limbo'.
The decision saw Parson ignore findings from the report, which indicated that Williams should never have been convicted in the first place.
Even during his trial, no physical evidence was presented connecting Williams to the crime at the time.
A court filing from 2024 prosecuting attorney from St. Louis Count Wesley Bell said Williams could not be the killer.
The filing detailed how three separate DNA experts had 'independently concluded that Mr. Williams is excluded as the source of the male DNA on the handle of the murder weapon'.
Critics of the decision have claimed that Missouri republicans including the state's attorney general are ignoring evidence which would exonerate Williams, and are going to kill an innocent man.
Tricia Bushnell, the executive director of the Midwest Innocence Project told The Kansas City Star: “To date, no court has ever reviewed the DNA evidence proving Mr. Williams was not the individual who wielded the murder weapon and committed this crime,”
“Yet, the State successfully sought an execution date, highlighting the system’s emphasis on finality over innocence. That is not justice."
The case continues.