Breaking: Missouri court refuses to postpone Marcellus Williams' execution date

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Caption: Marcellus Williams. (Image: Courtesy of Marcellus Williams’ legal team)


John, we have an urgent update about Marcellus Williams' pending execution date on Sept. 24:

Despite lower courts agreeing to finally review previously unconsidered evidence that proves Marcellus' innocence, the Missouri Supreme Court refused to postpone Marcellus' execution date. 

This means that Marcellus' life is still in imminent danger. John, will you join us in stopping Marcellus' execution and ending this injustice before it's too late?

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While we await a hearing on Aug. 21 to consider Marcellus' actual innocence, we are deeply disappointed by the refusal of the Missouri Supreme Court to postpone the execution date in order to give the Circuit Court enough time to consider the exculpatory DNA results that no court has previously considered.

Marcellus is scheduled to be executed on Sept. 24 for a crime DNA proves he did not commit. The St. Louis County Prosecutor reviewed these DNA results and filed a motion to vacate Marcellus’ conviction because he believed the DNA results proved with clear and convincing evidence that Marcellus did not commit this crime.

Marcellus has been attempting to prove his innocence throughout the almost 24 years he has spent on Missouri’s death row for a crime he didn't commit. On Aug. 11, 1998, Felicia Gayle was found stabbed to death in her home. The perpetrator left behind considerable forensic evidence, including fingerprints, a bloody shoe-print, hair, and trace DNA on the murder weapon, a knife from Ms. Gayle’s kitchen. None of this forensic evidence matches Marcellus — and this evidence will finally be considered by the courts on Aug. 21 for the first time ever.

"We are confident that any court, when presented with all the evidence — including the DNA evidence — will come to the same conclusion as St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell: that Marcellus Williams is innocent and his conviction must be overturned. No court has ever held a hearing to consider all of the exculpatory evidence of innocence. There is still time to right this wrong. No one wants to see Missouri execute an innocent man."

Tricia Bushnell, attorney for Marcellus Williams
July 12, 2024

At the Innocence Project, we know firsthand the power of DNA evidence to exonerate the wrongfully incarcerated — even for people like Marcellus who have been fighting for more than two decades to prove his innocence. 200 people have been exonerated from death row, 33 of whom were exonerated by DNA.

But we also know that we cannot leave an innocent individual's fate to the courts alone. We need all hands on deck to stop this execution. Please, John, sign the petition, join the advocacy team, and don't stop talking about Marcellus and the urgent need to stop his execution.

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Thank you for your continued commitment to fighting for Marcellus.

— The Innocence Project
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The Innocence Project works to free the innocent, prevent wrongful convictions, and create fair, compassionate, and equitable systems of justice for everyone. Founded in 1992 by Barry C. Scheck and Peter J. Neufeld at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University, the organization is now an independent nonprofit. Our work is guided by science and grounded in anti-racism.

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