Republican Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens issued a stay on convicted murderer Marcellus Williams’ execution Tuesday just hours before that execution was to be carried out.
Missouri convicted Williams in 2001 for the 1998 murder of Felicia Gayle, a local news reporter who was stabbed 43 times inside her St. Louis home. Williams’ attorneys claimed they’d uncovered new DNA evidence that would exonerate Williams and petitioned the US Supreme Court to stay the execution Monday night.
The murder weapon had none of Williams’ DNA on it, according to the attorneys, but it did have DNA from another male, CNN reported Tuesday.
“A sentence of death is the ultimate, permanent punishment,” Greitens said in a statement. “To carry out the death penalty, the people of Missouri must have confidence in the judgment of guilt. In light of new information, I am appointing a Board of Inquiry in this case.”
This is the second time Williams has had his execution pushed back. In 2015, SCOTUS issued another stay to allow Williams’ defense attorneys to run additional DNA testing, which eventually resulted in Monday’s discovery. (RELATED: Top Drug Manufacturer To Florida: Don’t Use Our Drugs For Executions)
Kent Gipson, one of Williams’ attorneys is confident that the evidence will exonerate the man.
“They’re never going to ever confront an actual innocence cause more persuading than this involving exonerating DNA evidence,” Gipson told The Washington Post. “I’ve seen a lot of miscarriages of justice, but this one would take the cake.”
Prosecutors, however, are less convinced, and point to “compelling non-DNA evidence” showing Williams is still guilty.
During trial, both Williams’ girlfriend and one of Williams’ former fellow inmates claimed that he had confessed to Gayle’s murder. Williams also sold Gayle’s laptop after her murder, and officers found more of her items in a car he used the day of the murder.
“The item was a kitchen knife with both male and female DNA on the handle,” the state attorney general’s office argued. “It is reasonable to assume people not involved in the murder handled the knife in the kitchen. And there is no reason to believe Williams would not have worn gloves during a burglary and murder, as he wore a jacket to conceal his bloody shirt after he left the murder scene.”
Nevertheless, Greitens issued a stay in light of the new evidence and appointed a board of inquiry to consider the case and recommend that the state either go through with the execution or commute Williams’ sentence.
“Our office is confident in Marcellus Williams’ guilt and plans to move forward,” an AG spokesperson told the Post.
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