A judge weighs whether to spare Missouri man from execution after evidence was mishandled
Marcellus Williams thought the DNA evidence was enough to remove him from Missouri’s death row, perhaps even free him from prison.
ST. LOUIS — Marcellus Williams thought the DNA evidence was enough to remove him from Missouri’s death row, perhaps even free him from prison. A decades-old mistake by a prosecutor’s office has kept his life hanging in the balance.
Williams, 55, is scheduled to be executed on Sept. 24 for the 1998 stabbing death of Lisha Gayle in the St. Louis suburb of University City. On Wednesday, St. Louis County Circuit Judge Bruce Hilton presided over an evidentiary hearing challenging Williams’ guilt. He did not immediately issue a ruling but is expected to do so by mid-September.
The heart of Williams’ argument was DNA evidence that authorities recently determined was contaminated more than two decades ago by officials in the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
Marcellus Williams.Missouri Department of Corrections via AP / APMishandling of the murder weapon was devastating for Williams because it “destroyed his last and best chance” to prove his innocence, said Jonathan Potts, an attorney for Williams.
The Missouri Attorney General’s Office, which opposed a deal that would spare Williams’ life but give him a life sentence, said other evidence points to his guilt.
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