World Courant
JEFFERSON CITY, Missouri — Legal professionals for a Missouri man set to be executed Tuesday evening have filed a brand new attraction with the U.S. Supreme Court docket, claiming his trial was marred by racial bias and constitutional errors.
Marcellus WilliamsWilliams, 55, has lengthy maintained his innocence within the 1998 loss of life of Lisha Gayle, a social employee and former newspaper reporter who was repeatedly stabbed throughout a housebreaking of her suburban St. Louis residence. The execution has been opposed by each Gayle’s household and the prosecution, which has put Williams on loss of life row — an unprecedented mixture.
“The household defines closure as permitting Marcellus to reside,” the clemency petition reads. “Marcellus’ execution just isn’t crucial.”
Williams hopes his sentence can be commuted to life imprisonment had two setbacks On Monday, Republican Gov. Mike Parson nearly concurrently denied clemency and the Missouri Supreme Court docket refused to grant a keep of execution.
Attorneys engaged on behalf of Williams filed motions Monday evening difficult the state Supreme Court docket’s determination.
“We have now requested the U.S. Supreme Court docket to remain the execution of Marcellus Williams on Tuesday based mostly on a revelation by the prosecutor that he eliminated no less than one Black juror earlier than the trial based mostly on his race,” Tricia Bushnell, an legal professional for Mr. Williams, mentioned in a information launch.
The prosecutor within the 2001 homicide case, Keith Larner, testified at an August listening to that he rejected a possible black juror, partly as a result of he appeared an excessive amount of like Williams. Williams’ attorneys mentioned the ruling confirmed undue racial bias.
Bushnell mentioned Larner eliminated six of the seven potential black jurors. The jury finally consisted of 11 white members and one black member. Larner claimed the jury choice course of was truthful.
The state Supreme Court docket on Monday afternoon unanimously upheld a decrease court docket’s ruling that rejected Williams’ arguments.
“Regardless of almost 1 / 4 century of litigation in each state and federal courts, there isn’t a credible proof of precise innocence or any proof of a constitutional error that undermines confidence within the authentic judgment,” wrote Justice Zel Fischer of the Missouri Supreme Court docket.
Parson accused Williams’ attorneys of trying to “cloud the DNA proof” with claims that the courts have repeatedly rejected.
“Nothing within the precise info of this case has led me to consider in Mr. Williams’ innocence,” Parson mentioned in an announcement.
Parson, a former sheriff, has by no means granted a pardon in a loss of life penalty case. Williams’ execution can be the third in Missouri this 12 months and the a hundredth because the state resumed executions in 1989.
St. Louis County District Lawyer Wesley Bell has sought to have Williams’ sentence thrown out, citing questions on his guilt. His workplace joined with attorneys from the Midwest Innocence Challenge in asking the U.S. Supreme Court docket for a keep.
“Even for many who disagree with the loss of life penalty, the irreversible punishment of execution shouldn’t be an choice if there’s even a shadow of doubt a couple of defendant’s guilt,” Bell mentioned in an announcement.
That is the third time Williams has confronted execution. He was lower than every week away from deadly injection in January 2015 when the state Supreme Court docket dominated I referred to as it offwhich gave his attorneys time to conduct extra DNA testing.
He was hours away from execution in August 2017 when then-Governor Eric Greitens, a Republican, postponement granted And a panel appointed of retired judges to analyze the case. However that panel by no means got here to a conclusion.
Questions on DNA proof additionally led to Bell requests a listening to Williams’ guilt. However a number of days earlier than the August 21 listening to, new checks confirmed that the DNA on the knife belonged to members of the Public Prosecution Service who had dealt with the knife with out gloves after the unique forensic laboratory checks.
As a result of there was no DNA proof to level to another suspect, attorneys with the Midwest Innocence Challenge reached a compromise with the prosecution: Williams would enter a brand new, no-contest plea to first-degree homicide in alternate for a brand new sentence: life in jail with out the opportunity of parole.
Decide Bruce Hilton signed the settlement, as did Gayle’s household. However on the urging of Missouri’s Republican Lawyer Normal Andrew Bailey, the Missouri Supreme Court docket blocked the settlement and ordered Hilton to proceed with a proof listening towhich happened on August 28.
Hilton dominated on September 12 that the first-degree homicide conviction and the loss of life penalty would stand, noting that Williams’ arguments had all been beforehand rejected. That call was upheld Monday by the state Supreme Court docket.
Prosecutors at Williams’ authentic trial mentioned that on Aug. 11, 1998, he broke into Gayle’s residence, heard water working within the bathe and located a big butcher knife. Gayle, a former reporter for the St. Louis Put up-Dispatch, was stabbed 43 instances when she got here downstairs. Her purse and her husband’s laptop computer had been stolen.
In keeping with authorities, Williams stole a jacket to cowl up the blood on his shirt. Williams’ girlfriend requested him why he would put on a jacket on a sizzling day. The girlfriend mentioned she later noticed the bag and the laptop computer in his automotive and that Williams offered the pc a day or two later.
Prosecutors additionally cited testimony from Henry Cole, who shared a cell with Williams in 1999 whereas Williams was incarcerated on unrelated costs. Cole informed prosecutors that Williams confessed to the killing and supplied particulars in regards to the killing.
Williams’ attorneys mentioned fingerprints, a bloody shoe print, hair and different proof on the crime scene didn’t match Williams.
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Salter reported from O’Fallon, Missouri.
Legal professionals ask Supreme Court docket for intervention hours earlier than scheduled execution of Missouri inmate
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