Entries tagged with “Mike Parson”
Aug 01, 2025
Exoneree Sandra Hemme’s Case Reflects Broader Pattern of Opposition to Innocence Claims from Missouri Attorney General’s Office
Sandra Hemme walked free from a Missouri prison in July 2024 after 43 years behind bars for a murder she did not commit; however, her release only came after a judge threatened state Attorney General Andrew Bailey with contempt of court for trying to keep Ms. Hemme incarcerated despite overwhelming evidence of her innocence. Now 65 years old, Ms. Hemme has filed a lawsuit against the city of St. Joseph, Missouri and eight police officers involved in her case for malicious prosecution, alleging…
Sep 24, 2024
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…
Issues
Sep 13, 2024
Ignoring Credible Innocence Claims, St. Louis County Circuit Court Denies Prosecutor’s Motion to Vacate Marcellus Williams’ Conviction and Death Sentence
On September 12, 2024, the Missouri Circuit Court for St. Louis County denied Prosecuting Attorney (PA) Wesley Bell’s motion to vacate Marcellus Williams’ conviction and death sentence for the 1998 murder of Felicia Gayle. Judge Bruce F. Hilton denied PA Bell’s motion, writing that “there is no basis for a court to find that [Mr.] Williams is innocent, and no court has made such a finding.” Judge Hilton added that the court was not presented with evidence showing that the previous…
Issues
Jun 10, 2024
Missouri Supreme Court Sets Execution Date for Marcellus Williams Despite County Prosecutor’s Pending Motion for Innocence Hearing
On June 4, 2024, the Missouri Supreme Court set a September 24, 2024, execution date for death-sentenced prisoner Marcellus Williams (pictured), despite serious doubts that he was not involved in the murder for which he is incarcerated. The announcement came just hours after the state Supreme Court ruled that Governor Mike Parson did not violate any rules when he dissolved a board of inquiry established in June 2023 by his predecessor, Eric Greitens, to investigate Mr. William’s claim of…
Research
Upcoming Executions
,Apr 05, 2024
Missouri’s First Execution of 2024 Scheduled for Man Whose Trial Lawyers Had Conflicts of Interest and Who Has Unprecedented Support for Clemency
Brian Dorsey (pictured), a Missouri death row prisoner scheduled for execution on April 9, 2024, has garnered widespread support for clemency from more than 70 corrections officials, a former Missouri Supreme Court Judge, multiple jurors, Democratic and Republican state legislators, faith leaders, and his family members — several of whom are related to the victims, Sarah and Ben Bonnie — all of whom have called on Governor Mike Parson to commute his sentence to life in prison without the…
Issues
Feb 01, 2024
After Attorney General’s Request for Execution Date, St. Louis County Prosecutor Files Motion to Vacate Marcellus Williams’ Death Sentence
On January 26, 2024, St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell filed a motion in the St. Louis County Circuit Court, asking the Court to vacate Marcellus Williams’ death sentence. Mr. Williams was sentenced to death in 2001 for the 1998 killing of local newspaper reporter, Felicia Gayle, but has maintained his innocence throughout his incarceration. No physical evidence tied Mr. Williams to the crime and the trial court judge refused to allow DNA testing of some of the evidence…
Issues
Jan 17, 2024
POSSIBLE INNOCENCE: Despite DNA Evidence Clearing Marcellus Williams, Missouri Intends to Execute Him
The Missouri Supreme Court is considering how to apply a rarely used state law intended to prevent wrongful executions. Marcellus Williams (pictured), a death row prisoner who maintains his innocence, could face execution if the state’s high court allows Governor Mike Parson to dissolve a board of inquiry that former Governor Eric Greitens formed to examine Mr. Williams’ innocence claims. Mr. Williams’ attorneys argue that state law requires the board to provide a report and recommendation to…
Research
Religion
,Jan 10, 2024
Catholic Organizers See “Renewed Momentum” for Death Penalty Abolition from Pope Francis’ Teachings
In 2018, Pope Francis formally revised the Catechism of the Catholic Church — its core teachings — to oppose the death penalty. Characterizing capital punishment as “an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person,” he wrote that the Catholic Church “works with determination for its abolition worldwide.” This revision updated a 1997 Catechism edit by Pope John Paul II that permitted the death penalty in rare cases where it was deemed “the only possible way of effectively defending human…
Issues
Executions Overview
,Jul 07, 2023
Missouri Governor Lifts Stay of Execution for Marcellus Williams, Ending Inquiry of Innocence Claim
On June 29, 2023, Missouri Governor Mike Parson (pictured) lifted the stay of execution for Marcellus Williams, a death-sentenced prisoner convicted of murdering Felisha Gayle, a former St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter in 1998. Governor Parson also dissolved the Board of Inquiry, a judicial panel appointed by former Missouri Governor Eric Greitens to review evidence of innocence and provide recommendations on Mr. Williams’s application for executive clemency. On August 22, 2017, former…
Issues
Upcoming Executions
,May 19, 2023
Missouri Clemency Petition Highlights Prisoner’s Extraordinary Artwork
UPDATE 2: On June 2, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit lifted the stay that had been imposed by the U.S. District Court, saying that the lower court did not have jurisdiction to order the stay. UPDATE 1: On May 31, 2023, U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough issued a stay of execution, pending an evidentiary hearing on whether a juror was unqualified under Missouri law. Michael Tisius is an artist. He is also a death row prisoner who is set to be executed by the state of…