Prosecutors seek to overturn conviction of Missouri man who is on death row

Marcellus “Khaliifah” Williams, whose stay of execution was lifted last summer, will have his case heard after prosecutors announced they will use a Missouri law allowing them to intervene in wrongful convictions.

The 55 year old has been on Missouri’s death row for 24 years.

DNA testing concluded he was not a match to evidence found on the knife that killed Felicia Gayle, a woman who was murdered in 1998 in St. Louis County.

As a result of the DNA evidence, former Gov. Eric Greitens halted Williams’ 2017 execution date and convened a board of inquiry tasked with making a recommendation on the case.

But in June, Gov. Mike Parson lifted the stay and dissolved the board with little explanation.

The Missouri Attorney General’s Office immediately requested the Missouri Supreme Court set an execution date.

Williams’ legal team filed a lawsuit in late August contending that going forward with an execution would violate his constitutional rights to due process. They also argued Parson did not have authority to disband the board without a recommendation. The lawsuit remains ongoing in the Circuit Court of Cole County.

Earlier this month, the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office’s conviction and integrity review unit sent a letter to the court asking for a delay of six months while the office investigates Williams’ innocence claim.

Prosecutors are using a state law that went into effect in August 2021, allowing them to file a motion to vacate a conviction if they have information that a prisoner might be innocent or “erroneously convicted.” A hearing before a judge is then scheduled.

The law was first used by Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker in Kevin Strickland’s case. He was released from prison in November 2021 after serving 43 years for a triple murder he did not commit.

Prosecutor’s arguments

Wesley Bell, the prosecutor in St. Louis County, filed a 63-page motion to vacate Williams’ conviction late Friday. The motion said evidence, including the knife used in the murder, shoe prints, fingerprints and hair, were found at the crime scene.

“None of this physical evidence tied Mr. Williams to Ms. Gayle’s murder,” the court document said.

Bell also identified issues related to the fairness of Williams’ trial.

Prosecutors who tried the case also “improperly removed qualified jurors for racial reasons during jury selection,” the motion said, adding that it was part of a “historic pattern and practice.”

And Williams’ defense attorney failed to look into the credibility of two key witnesses who had been incentivized by reward money.

Bell said he was also conducting an investigation to identify “an alternative perpetrator.” His office’s review of the case concluded that “new evidence suggests that Mr. Williams is actually innocent.”

WIlliams’ legal team said they were grateful that Bell had filed the motion.

“Hope for justice has now been restored,” they said in a statement. “We are confident that any full and fair process will lead to the inevitable conclusion – that Mr. Williams is innocent and his conviction must be overturned.”

This story was originally published January 29, 2024 at 10:04 AM.

Katie Moore

The Kansas City Star

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Katie Moore was an enterprise and accountability reporter for The Star. She covered justice issues, including policing, prison conditions and the death penalty. She is a University of Kansas graduate and began her career as a reporter in 2015 in her hometown of Topeka, Kansas.