Maeve Bidonde, Staff Writer
Last Tuesday, Sept. 24, 55-year-old Marcellus Williams was executed after having been found guilty of a 1998 murder case of 42-year-old Felicia “Lisha” Gayle. Williams’ attorneys and Gayle’s family didn’t wish for Williams to be sentenced to death. Gayle’s family believed Williams should’ve been given life in prison without the possibility for parole instead.
In 1998, Williams broke into Gayle’s house and believed himself to be alone until he heard the shower running. Williams then grabbed a large butcher knife and stabbed Gayle 43 times when she came downstairs. Williams stole her purse, her husband’s laptop and stole a jacket to cover up blood on his shirt before leaving the house. Gayle was a social worker and former St. Louis post-dispatcher at the time of her death. During the trial prosecutors used the testimony from Williams’ cellmate, Henry Cole. Cole said Williams admitted to the murder and then told him the details.
During the trial Williams’ attorneys pointed out the fingerprints, hair, and a bloody shoe print that were found at the scene don’t match Williams. Soon after, a crime scene investigator testified that the murderer wore gloves. There were some questions about DNA evidence that led St. Louis Prosecuting Attorney, Wesley Bell, to request a hearing to challenge Williams’ guilt. However, days before the hearing was supposed to take place, it was determined the DNA on the knife was from DA office members failing to handle the knife properly with gloves on after the initial test performed by the crime lab.
A deal was reached for a commuted sentence, a no contest plea was signed off by Judge Bruce Hilton. The state supreme court blocked it based on an appeal from Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s office and told Hilton to instead do an evidentiary hearing. Hilton ruled the conviction and death penalty would stand. He made sure to note that Williams’ arguments had been rejected already. This led to Williams’ attorneys questioning the jury selection process. Missouri Governor Mike Parson gave a statement read by Trevor Foley, the director of the Missouri Department of Corrections. “We hope this gives finality to a case that’s languished for decades, re-victimizing Ms. Gayle’s family for decades,” Foley said according to CNN. “No juror, no judge has ever found Williams’ innocence claim to be credible. Two decades of judicial proceedings and more than 15 judicial hearings upheld his guilty conviction. Thus the order of execution has been carried out.”
According to AP News, the Gayle family believeMarcellus Williams being executed was not closure but the commuted sentence was. The previous governor, Erice Greitens, halted the execution and formed a board to investigate Williams’ case.
The board was investigating for six years before Parson took office and disbanded the board from investigating further. Williams’ attorneys believe the decision infringed on Williams’ right to due process. On the day of his execution, Williams’ son was present at his execution but none of Gayle’s relatives came.
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