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?

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.

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.

Thank you for your continued commitment to fighting for Marcellus.

— The Innocence Project