The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday set an execution date for Marcellus Williams for September 24, as the inmate awaits a hearing on his claim that he was not involved in the murder that landed him on death row.
The state Supreme Court set the date hours after ruling that the Republican Gov. Mike Parson Last year he was right when he dissolved a commission of inquiry that had been convened by Parson’s predecessor six years earlier to investigate Williams’ claim of innocence.
Williams, 55, was convicted of first-degree murder in the 1998 death of Lisha Gayle during a robbery of her home in suburban St. Louis. He was hours away from execution in August 2017, when then-Gov. Erik Greitens, also a Republican, halted the trial and ordered an investigation. Greitens cited DNA testing that was not available at the time of the killing, showing that DNA on the knife used to stab Gayle matched someone else, not Williams.
In addition, St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell filed a motion to vacate the murder conviction in January. Bell cited the new DNA evidence and said he believed Williams was not involved in Gayle’s death. A 2021 Missouri law allows prosecutors to file a motion to overturn a conviction if they believe the inmate may be innocent or otherwise wrongly convicted. The filing leads to a hearing before a judge.
But no date has yet been set for the hearing on Bell’s motion. A spokesperson for Bell said Bell’s office is still “processing the actions of the Missouri Supreme Court.”
Parson dissolved the investigative committee in June 2023 after it failed to reach a conclusion, saying it was time to “move forward” in the case. It was not clear why the board, made up of five retired judges, never reached a conclusion.
The day after Parson dissolved the board, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey asked the state Supreme Court to set an execution date.
The Midwest Innocence Project filed a lawsuit on Williams’ behalf in August, arguing that Greitens’ order required the investigative committee to issue a report and recommendation, but Parson received neither.
The state Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling on Tuesday found that the “Missouri Constitution gives the governor exclusive constitutional authority to grant or deny clemency and that Williams has no legal or due process right to the investigative process.”
Parson’s spokesman, Johnathan Shiflett, said the governor’s authority was “clear, as affirmed today by the Missouri Supreme Court.”
Tricia Rojo Bushnell, attorney for the Midwest Innocence Project, said in a statement that the fight will continue to prove Williams’ innocence.
“We look forward to presenting evidence of his innocence in court, along with St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell, who has filed a motion to vacate Mr. Williams’ conviction. These injustices can still be righted,” Bushnell said.
Prosecutors said at the time of the crime that Williams broke a window to enter Gayle’s home on Aug. 11, 1998, heard water running in the shower and found a large butcher knife. When Gayle came down, she was stabbed 43 times. Her handbag and her husband’s laptop were stolen. Gayle was a social worker who previously worked as a reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Authorities say Williams stole a jacket to hide the blood on his shirt. Williams’ girlfriend asked him why he would wear a jacket on such a hot day. The girlfriend said she later saw the laptop in the car and that Williams sold it a day or two later.
Prosecutors also cited testimony from Henry Cole, who shared a St. Louis cell with Williams in 1999 while Williams was jailed on unrelated charges. Cole told prosecutors that Williams had confessed to the murder and provided details about it.
Williams’ attorneys responded that the girlfriend and Cole were both convicted for a $10,000 reward.
