JEFFERSON CITY,MO — The Missouri Supreme Court last week denied Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s request to prevent an evidentiary hearing Aug. 21 to hear matters involving the conviction and death sentence of Marcellus Williams filed by Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell.
In 2001, Williams was sentenced to death for the 1998 killing of a local newspaper reporter, Felicia Gayle. His defense claims there was no physical evidence tying Williams to the crime scene.
Additionally, the trial court judge refused to allow DNA testing for collected evidence and, argues the defense, prosecutors had to rely on the testimonies of two witnesses whose statements did not align with the collected physical evidence gathered from the crime scene.
In 2015,Williams’ case was allowed permission for DNA testing of the murder weapon, which revealed a male DNA profile that did not match that of Williams.
Tricia Rojo Bushnell, an attorney for Williams, said in response to the state Supreme Court denying Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s writ of prohibition that her team is, “relieved that the Missouri Supreme Court has turned away Attorney General Bailey’s attempt to prevent the circuit court from considering the compelling evidence of Marcellus Williams’ innocence.
“No one should stand in the way of this hearing, requested by the county prosecutor, aimed at ensuring Missouri does not execute an innocent man.”
According to the Death Penalty Information Center, Williams’ execution date is set for Sept. 24, 2024, despite there being a scheduled evidentiary hearing and significant doubt that he was involved in the crime by Attorney Bushnell’s team.
Kirk Bloodsworth, the first person to be exonerated by DNA evidence in a death penalty case in the U.S., said, “the DNA evidence in this case saved (my) life and, if reviewed, could save Williams’ life, too. Everyone should want this hearing to go forward. No one in Missouri wants to see an innocent man executed in their name.”
The Missouri Attorney General’s Office has had a long history opposing relief in innocence cases. In June, AG Bailey’s team opposed the release of Sandra Hemme, despite the court declaring her innocent for the crime she spent 43 years imprisoned for in MO.
However, Hemme was released in July, even after Bailey’s office fought for a month to keep her in custody, said the DPIC.
Similarly to the Williams case, the Death Penalty Information Center recalled the case of Christopher Dunne, who spent 34 years behind bars after prosecutors refused to retry him for a murder he did not commit.
Dunne was only recently released on July 30. A week prior, St. Louis Circuit Court Judge Jason Sengheiser overturned Dunn’s conviction and ordered his release immediately. Still, the South Central Correctional Center, where Dunn was being held, refused to comply with his release on the order of Attorney General Bailey.
Dunne was freed, said the DPIC, after emergency hearings and last minute filings declared that Attorney General Bailey did not have the authority to keep Dunne incarcerated. When Circuit Court Attorney Gabe Gore dropped the charges on July 30, it allowed Dunne’s release.
