The Missouri Department of Justice will hold a hearing on Marcellus Williams’ claim of innocence on Wednesday, August 28. Williams, who is scheduled to be executed on September 24 for the 1998 murder of Felicia Gayle, has maintained his innocence throughout the process of his legal defense. Though an evidentiary hearing earlier this week briefly gave him hope of reducing his sentence to life without parole, he currently finds himself once again facing an uncertain future.
The evidentiary hearing of August 21 found that due to improper handling by the prosecutor’s office, the murder weapon used to kill Felicia Gayle had no traces of Williams’ DNA. As a result, the lower court judge allowed Williams to renegotiate his sentence to life without parole. The Attorney General’s office appealed the decision, however, and the Supreme Court of Missouri held that the lower court lacked the authority to accept a new plea, largely based on the fact that the sentencing phase of a capital murder trial occurs after a separate jury already delivers a guilty verdict, so the DNA evidence was not a contributing factor in the jury’s decision for meting out capital punishment. The weapon was, however, a contributing factor for whether Williams was guilty of the crime, so for Williams to avoid execution, his attorneys need to demonstrate that the lack of DNA evidence on the weapon is enough to establish reasonable doubt in light of the other evidence the court considered in its original guilty verdict. The court will hold a hearing on this innocence claim on August 28.
The Catholic Church is strongly opposed to the death penalty because it disregards the sanctity and dignity of human life. If you would like to contact Governor Parson regarding Mr. Williams’ execution, you can reach his office via phone at (573) 751-3222 or email him here.