MISSOURI — On September 24, 2024, at 6:10 p.m., Marcellus Williams was pronounced dead at a prison in Bonne Terre, Missouri. Williams, a 55-year-old Black man, spent 24 years on death row for a crime lacking concrete evidence tying him to the scene. Despite pleas from advocates and new DNA evidence that excluded him as a suspect, Williams was executed by lethal injection. This case sparked controversy on multiple fronts, drawing worldwide criticism of the Missouri Supreme Court’s approach to justice.
The case revolves around Felicia Gayle, a former reporter, who, on August 11, 1998, was murdered in her home in University City, Missouri. Gayle was stabbed 43 times, and investigators found bloody footprints, strands of hair, and the murder weapon at the scene.
Three weeks after the murder, Marcellus Williams was arrested on unrelated charges and briefly jailed with an inmate named Henry Cole. Ten months later, Cole, who was still incarcerated, claimed that Williams had confessed to the murder of Gayle. Cole then directed authorities to Williams’ girlfriend at the time, Laura Asaro. When questioned, Asaro claimed she saw Williams dispose of bloody clothes and found stolen items in his car, along with a claim that Williams confessed the murder to her.
Notably, however, Cole and Asaro were both convicted felons with a long criminal history, and with motives to testify against Williams. Cole came forward after Gayle’s family offered a $10,000 reward, and Asaro received a reduced sentencing on her criminal charges.
Despite the lack of corroborating physical evidence, Williams was convicted of first-degree murder in 2001 and sentenced to death. His execution date was set to January 28th, 2015. His defense team argued the conviction was based on questionable witness testimonies, but Missouri prosecutors pushed forward.
In 2015, Williams’ execution was halted at the last minute to allow for additional DNA testing on the murder weapon, which was originally found at the scene. By 2016, DNA results confirmed no trace of Williams’ DNA on the knife handle. Three independent DNA experts determined that the DNA likely belonged to another individual, directly contradicting the testimonies used to convict Williams. Even with this new evidence, Missouri’s Supreme Court declined to reverse the conviction and scheduled a new execution date for 2017.
In 2017, Missouri Governor Eric Greitens issued a temporary stay of execution and created a five-person Board of Inquiry to review the DNA findings, as no action was taken on this new evidence in 2015. Citing concerns about the conviction’s reliability, Greitens charged the board with re-evaluating the evidence.
In 2023, Governor Mike Parson unexpectedly dissolved the Board of Inquiry without any prior communication or warning, cutting off the only official review of Williams’ case. Nearly immediately following this decision, Attorney General Andrew Bailey set a new execution date- September 24th, 2024. Around this time, St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell requested a review of evidence in hopes of overturning the conviction.
In August of 2024, DNA reports returned proving that the murder weapon had been mishandled in 2001 by members of the prosecutor’s office with no gloves, contaminating the evidence.
With no other suspects, but no direct evidence pointing toward Williams along with his continuous claims of innocence over 24 years, the judge on the case, Gayle’s families, and attorneys on both sides came to a compromise of a no-contest plea to first-degree murder, in exchange for life sentence without parole. However, the decision was contested by Governor Bailey and then backed by the Missouri Supreme Court, and the execution went through on September 24, 2024.
Racial bias has also been a focal point in the debate over Williams’ case. Williams, a Black man, was convicted by an all-white jury after a Black juror was removed by the prosecution for looking too much like Williams. Racial disparities in death penalty cases are well-documented across the United States, and Williams’ case has become emblematic of how bias can influence life-and-death outcomes in the justice system.
International criticism has poured in over Missouri’s handling of the case. Many argue the state ignored crucial DNA evidence pointing away from Williams, appearing to prioritize a conviction over seeking truth. Dissolving the Board of Inquiry and refusing to consider Wesley Bell’s proposed plea deal reflect a system that some say values finality over justice.
Although there was testimony-based evidence, Bell argues, “If there is even the shadow of a doubt of innocence, the death penalty should never be an option. This outcome did not serve the interests of justice.” I agree- this case demonstrates the irreversible consequences of a system unwilling to address its flaws. Marcellus Williams’ execution forces us to rethink capital punishment, especially when new evidence raises doubts. Justice should never prioritize finality over truth.
