Missouri Supreme Court and Governor Reject Innocence Claims and Refuse to Pause Execution for Marcellus Williams

On September 23, 2024, the Missouri Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the joint motion by Marcellus Williams’ legal team and St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney (PA) Wesley Bell to overturn a lower court’s decision rejecting Mr. Williams’ appeal. Later the same day, the state supreme court unanimously denied the motion, stating that there was “no credible evidence of actual innocence or any showing of a constitutional error undermining confidence in the original judgment.” Also the same day, Governor Mike Parson rejected Mr. Williams’ clemency petition, which will allow the execution scheduled for 6pm CT on September 24 to “be carried out as ordered by the [Missouri] Supreme Court.” Mr. Williams has three petitions including a motion for a stay of execution pending before the U.S. Supreme Court. [Update 6 pm EST: The Supreme Court has denied Mr. Williams’ request for a stay of execution.]

“Missouri is poised to execute an innocent man, an outcome that calls into question the legitimacy of the entire criminal justice system,” said Tricia Rojo Bushnell, attorney for Mr. Williams. “Given everything we know about Marcellus Williams’ case—including the new revelations that the trial prosecutor removed at least one Black juror because of his race, and opposition to this execution from the victim’s family and the sitting Prosecuting Attorney, the courts must step in to prevent this irreparable injustice.” 

During an August 28, 2024 hearing, one of the trial prosecutors admitted to excluding a potential juror during voir dire “in part” because of his race, which is illegal under Batson v. Kentucky.  The joint motion highlights this Constitutional error, as well as the presence of state attorneys’ DNA found in new test results that indicate the state’s contamination of crime scene evidence.  

“Capital punishment cases are some of the hardest issues we have to address in the Governor’s Office, but when it comes down to it, I follow the law and trust the integrity of our judicial system,” said Gov. Parson. Although his predecessor, Eric Greitens, stayed Mr. Williams’ previously scheduled execution and established an independent board to investigate his credible claims of innocence, Gov. Parson dissolved the board and revoked his stay of execution in 2023. “Nothing from the real facts of this case has led me to believe in Mr. Williams’ innocence,” said Gov. Parson, who has never granted clemency during his tenure. 

Despite support from PA Bell, who concedes the prior administration committed unconstitutional errors contributing to Mr. Williams’ unreliable conviction and death sentence, courts have consistently rejected his appeals, and the Missouri Supreme Court intervened at the request of Missouri Attorney General Bailey to overturn a plea agreement reached by both parties to remove Mr. Williams from death row. “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,” said PA Bell in a statement. 

If Mr. Williams’ execution moves forward, it would be Missouri’s 100th execution since the state resumed executions in 1989 and third execution it has carried out this year.