MO governor denies Marcellus Williams clemency. Other rulings pending as execution nears

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has denied clemency to a man facing execution Tuesday who has maintained he is innocent.

Marcellus “Khaliifah” Williams will die by lethal injection unless a court steps in.

The 55-year-old’s legal team requested clemency, saying evidence was marred by trial prosecutors and emphasizing that the victim’s family does not want to see the death penalty carried out.

Williams’ planned execution has garnered wide opposition. No forensic evidence links him to the crime. He was convicted primarily on the word of two witnesses who later received reward money for their testimony. One of them led authorities to Williams’ car, where some of Gayle’s belongings were found.

In a statement announcing his decision, Parson said that capital punishment cases are difficult, but he trusts the integrity of the judicial system.

“Mr. Williams has exhausted due process and every judicial avenue, including over 15 hearings attempting to argue his innocence and overturn his conviction,” the governor said. “No jury nor court, including at the trial, appellate, and Supreme Court levels, have ever found merit in Mr. Williams’ innocence claims.”

Parson’s decision was not surprising. He has denied every clemency application in a death penalty case that has come across his desk since he became governor in June 2018.

Last year, he lifted a stay of execution for Williams that former Gov. Eric Greitens had put in place, setting off several legal actions in state and federal courts, some of which remain pending at the 11th hour.

Two cases remain before the U.S. Supreme Court. One of them asks if a prospective Black juror was improperly struck from the pool. The second questions Parson’s decision to dissolve a board of inquiry Greitens launched to look into Williams’ case.

Williams was convicted in the 1998 stabbing death of Felicia Gayle in St. Louis County.

In January, St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell filed a motion in an attempt to overturn Williams’ conviction. A statute unique to Missouri allowed Bell to intervene on Williams’ behalf.

That effort culminated in an evidentiary hearing last month.

On Sept. 12, St. Louis County Circuit Judge Bruce Hilton upheld Williams’ conviction. Bell appealed that decision, and arguments were heard before the Missouri Supreme Court on Monday.

“Even for those who disagree on the death penalty, when there is a shadow of a doubt of any defendant’s guilt, the irreversible punishment of execution should not be an option,” Bell said in a statement after Parson announced his clemency decision. “As the St. Louis County prosecutor, our office has questions about Mr. Williams guilt, but also about the integrity of his conviction.”

Less than two hours after Parson said he was denying clemency, the Missouri Supreme Court rejected Bell’s appeal in a 24-page opinion issued around 6:40 p.m. Monday.

Attorneys for Williams said if his execution proceeds, it will be the first time in Missouri that an execution has been opposed by the prosecutor and the victim’s family.

This story was originally published September 23, 2024 at 5:06 PM.

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.