St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Concedes Constitutional Errors in Marcellus Williams’ Conviction and Death Sentence, Urges the Court to Vacate His Conviction

On August 28, 2024, a St. Louis County Circuit Court judge held an evidentiary hearing for Marcellus Williams (pictured), who has long maintained his innocence in the 1998 murder of Felicia Gayle. At this hearing, the office of St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney (PA) Wesley Bell conceded that the prior administration, under Prosecuting Attorney Bob McCullogh, committed constitutional errors contributing to Mr. Williams’ unreliable conviction and death sentence. These errors include the mishandling of the murder weapon that could have exonerated Mr. Williams.

In January 2024, PA Wesley Bell filed a motion to vacate Mr. Williams’ death sentence after DNA testing excluded him as the source of DNA on the murder weapon. A 2021 Missouri law allows prosecutors to challenge past convictions if they believe the individual is innocent or wrongfully convicted. On August 21, attorneys for Mr. Williams and representatives of PA Bell’s office were scheduled to present evidence of his innocence, but before the hearing started, prosecutors from PA Bell’s office unexpectedly announced that the murder weapon contained DNA of members of the trial prosecution team. Because of this discovery, PA Bell’s office told the court that the DNA evidence “did not fully support [their] initial conclusions.” Mr. Williams agreed to enter an Alford plea in exchange for a sentence of life without parole after discussions between counsel. This agreement would have ensured that Mr. Williams would not be executed. Hours after Judge Bruce F. Hilton accepted this plea agreement, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey asked the state Supreme Court to block the agreement, arguing that Judge Hilton did not have the authority to resentence Mr. Williams. In response, the Missouri Supreme Court ordered the lower court to set aside the plea agreement and move forward with the scheduled evidentiary hearing.

During the rescheduled evidentiary hearing, PA Bell’s office acknowledged that the previous administration was responsible for the mishandling of the murder weapon and conceded error in the destruction of bloody fingerprints left at the crime scene, as well as in the improper exclusion of prospective Black jurors because of their race. PA Bell told the court that when considered together, these issues undermine the fairness and reliability of Mr. Williams’ death sentence and conviction and require that both be vacated. While PA Bell’s office supports Mr. Williams’ innocence claim, AG Bailey’s office adamantly opposes relief for Mr. Williams. Tricia Rojo Bushnell, an attorney for Mr. Williams, said that since PA Bell’s office has acknowledged the unreliability of Mr. Williams’ conviction, and that the errors from the previous administration have “foreclosed Mr. Williams’ ability to conclusively prove his innocence at this moment in time, and that under these circumstances, it would be unconscionable to allow his execution.”

Former St. Louis Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Keith Larner testified during the evidentiary hearing that he determined the knife used to kill Ms. Gayle was “worthless” as a piece of evidence. Mr. Larner told the court that the knife handle had been analyzed for fingerprints, but none were recovered, and that the blood found on the knife matched Ms. Gayle’s. Therefore, the prosecutors did not believe additional forensic testing needed to be done. Mr. Larner testified that an investigator told him that the killer had worn gloves, making the weapon “irrelevant.” Mr. Larner also discussed his handling of the murder weapon without gloves and saw no issues with the practice. He insisted that “there was nothing to link anybody to the crime on that knife.” Assistant Attorney General Michael Spillane, representing AG Bailey’s office, told the court that Mr. Larner’s handling of the evidence without gloves was a routine practice. Mr. Spillane told the court that Mr. Larner did not do this in “bad faith” and that “it wasn’t even negligent.” Christopher McGraugh, one of Mr. Williams’ trial attorneys, and now circuit court judge in St. Louis, testified that at the time of Mr. Williams’ trial, it was well understood that handling forensic evidence without precautions, like gloves, could result in contaminated evidence. Mr. McGraugh told the court that when he handled evidence in Mr. Williams’ case, he was required to wear gloves.

When questioned about the eyewitness testimony used to obtain Mr. Williams’ conviction, Mr. Larner denied that anything questionable had occurred, claiming that both informants, now deceased, were “two of the strongest witnesses” he presented throughout his nearly 32-year career as a prosecutor in St. Louis County. After a monetary reward was offered for more information about Ms. Gayle’s murder, a jailhouse informant, Henry Cole, told the police a story about how Marcellus Williams, a former cellmate of his, confessed to killing Ms. Gayle. Police later secured another informant, Mr. Williams’ former girlfriend, Laura Asaro, who told police that Mr. Williams killed Ms. Gayle. Both Mr. Cole and Ms. Asaro were facing unrelated criminal charges and stood to benefit from testifying for the state.

Judge Hilton has to issue a ruling by September 13, 2024. Mr. Williams is scheduled to be executed on September 24, 2024.