Marcellus Williams Seeks U.S. Supreme Court Intervention Before Missouri Execution

Marcellus Williams, a Missouri man on death row for the 1998 murder of Lisha Gayle, is appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court for intervention after the state’s highest court and governor rejected his request for clemency. Williams, 55, is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection at 6 p.m. on Tuesday. Despite maintaining his innocence throughout the years, both Missouri Governor Mike Parson and the state Supreme Court have denied efforts to spare his life.

Governor Parson, who has never granted clemency in a death penalty case, rejected Williams' request on Monday. Parson stated that after reviewing the facts, he was unconvinced of Williams' innocence, stating, "Nothing from the real facts of this case have led me to believe in Mr. Williams' innocence."

Williams’ legal team is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene, pointing out parallels to the case of Richard Glossip, a death row inmate in Oklahoma whose case is under review by the Supreme Court. They argue that the issues in Williams' case, including racial bias in jury selection, warrant a halt to the execution and further review.

Claims of Racial Bias in Jury Selection

One of the key arguments presented by Williams’ attorneys is the racial bias involved in jury selection during his trial. According to a petition filed with the Supreme Court, the trial prosecutor struck a potential Black juror because the juror and Williams "looked like brothers." The defense argues that this decision violated Williams' constitutional right to a fair trial before a jury of his peers.

Tricia Rojo Bushnell, one of Williams’ attorneys, emphasized the significance of this revelation, stating that the prosecutor admitted to excluding a juror based on race. St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell also acknowledged this error, confessing that racial bias was a factor in Williams' trial. Bell had earlier filed a motion to vacate Williams’ conviction, but the state Supreme Court blocked it.

DNA Evidence and Questions of Innocence

Williams' case has drawn national attention, not only because of the racial bias claim but also due to questions surrounding the DNA evidence. DNA testing of the murder weapon, a knife, has failed to link Williams to the crime. In fact, new tests revealed that the DNA on the knife belonged to individuals from the prosecutor’s office, who had handled the weapon without gloves.

Despite this, Missouri courts have so far upheld Williams’ conviction and death sentence. Wesley Bell and Williams’ legal team continue to argue that the courts have not fully addressed the racial bias or the DNA evidence, which raises serious doubts about Williams' guilt.

National Attention and Public Outcry

Williams’ case has sparked widespread outrage, with advocacy groups like the Midwest Innocence Project, the NAACP, and the Council on American-Islamic Relations rallying behind him. Over 1.3 million people have signed petitions urging the state to halt his execution. Notable figures such as Sister Helen Prejean and Martin Luther King III have spoken out against the scheduled execution, calling it a miscarriage of justice.

If the execution proceeds, Williams will become the third person executed by Missouri in 2024. This marks his third time facing execution; previous execution dates were delayed in 2015 and 2017 due to ongoing legal proceedings and questions surrounding his case.

With his fate now in the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court, activists and legal advocates hope that his execution will be delayed once again to allow for a full examination of the racial bias and DNA evidence that could prove Williams' innocence.