Will an Innocent Missouri Black Man Be Executed Today?

Time is running out for Marcellus Williams. Despite arguments from his attorneys that he was wrongfully convicted in the 1998 murder of Lisha Gayle in her St. Louis home, he is still slated to be executed by lethal injection on Tuesday (Sept. 24) at 6 p.m. CST.

On Monday, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson rejected the request by Williams’ attorneys to grant the inmate clemency that would spare him from the death penalty and would instead sentence him to life in prison. The same day, Missouri’s top court also denied a stay of execution, which would’ve delayed the lethal injection so a lower court could determine if the prosecutor in Williams’ case had a racial bias against him, according to the Associated Press.

Shortly after both requests were denied on Monday, Williams’ legal team filed an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court that challenged the state’s decision. “We have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to stay Marcellus Williams’ execution on Tuesday based on a revelation by the trial prosecutor that he removed at least one Black juror before trial based on his race,” the motion reads.

Keith Larner, the prosecutor in the 2001 murder trial, said in August that he removed the Black juror because he resembled Williams, which his attorneys claim is an example of his racial bias.

More from the Associated Press:

Prosecutors at Williams’ original trial said he broke into Gayle’s home on Aug. 11, 1998, heard water running in the shower, and found a large butcher knife. Gayle, a former reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, was stabbed 43 times when she came downstairs. Her purse and her husband’s laptop computer were stolen.

Authorities said Williams stole a jacket to conceal blood on his shirt. Williams’ girlfriend asked him why he would wear a jacket on a hot day. The girlfriend said she later saw the purse and laptop in his car and that Williams sold the computer a day or two later.

The testimony of Henry Cole, a man who shared a cell with Williams while he was in jail on separate charges, led to his conviction. While together, Williams allegedly confessed to the murder of Gayle and shared specific details about it.

Since his conviction, Williams has faced execution three times, (counting this one) as his attorneys have continued to ask the Missouri Supreme Court for more time to look for DNA proof that their client was not involved in the murder of Gayle, according to the AP.