Current:Home > FinanceMissouri execution plans move forward despite prosecutor trying to overturn murder conviction -TradeGrid
Missouri execution plans move forward despite prosecutor trying to overturn murder conviction
View
Date:2025-04-17 02:39:55
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri Supreme Court on Friday ruled that execution plans for Marcellus Williams will move forward, even as a prosecutor works to overturn his 1998 murder conviction.
Judges on Friday decided against halting Williams’ execution despite a St. Louis County court hearing set for Aug. 21 to determine whether he is innocent.
Williams was convicted of first-degree murder in the 1998 death of Lisha Gayle during a robbery of her suburban St. Louis home.
St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell filed a motion in January to vacate Williams’ conviction. Bell cited new DNA evidence and said he believed Williams was not involved in Gayle’s death.
A 2021 Missouri law allows prosecuting attorneys to file a motion to vacate a conviction if they believe the inmate could be innocent or was otherwise erroneously convicted. The filing prompts a hearing before a judge.
In the meantime, Williams had asked the Supreme Court to stay his execution pending the outcome of the August hearing. He faces execution Sept. 24.
Judges ruled that they do not have the procedural authority to withdraw the execution order at this time.
Williams’ attorney Tricia Bushnell in a statement said she’s “confident that any court, when presented with all the evidence—including the DNA evidence—will come to the same conclusion as St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell: that Marcellus Williams is innocent and his conviction must be overturned.”
“There is still time to right this wrong,” she said. “No one wants to see Missouri execute an innocent man.”
Bell said in a statement that his office is focused on the upcoming innocence hearing.
“While of course we would prefer that this motion before the Missouri Supreme Court had prevailed and there were no longer an execution date looming for Marcellus Williams, our focus is on the motion we filed before the 21st Judicial Circuit and the effort to have our concerns about the conviction of Mr. Williams heard in court,” Bell said.
A spokeswoman for the Missouri Attorney General’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press on Friday.
veryGood! (9)
Related
- Grammy nominee Teddy Swims on love, growth and embracing change
- The Dutch counterterror agency has raised the national threat alert to the second-highest level
- UN warns nearly 50 million people could face hunger next year in West and Central Africa
- Fed rate hikes are over, economists say. Here's what experts say you should do with your money.
- Who's hosting 'Saturday Night Live' tonight? Musical guest, how to watch Dec. 14 episode
- Secret Santa Gifts on Amazon That Understand the Assignment & They're Under $30
- Why Anne Hathaway Says It’s “Lucky” Her Barbie Movie Didn’t Get Made
- The weather is getting cold. Global warming is still making weather weird.
- San Francisco names street for Associated Press photographer who captured the iconic Iwo Jima photo
- Inaugural Jazz Music Awards will be broadcast on PBS and PBS Passport with host Dee Dee Bridgewater
Ranking
- US appeals court rejects Nasdaq’s diversity rules for company boards
- Ranked choice voting bill moves to hearing in front of Wisconsin Senate elections committee
- Tricia Tuttle appointed as the next director of the annual Berlin film festival
- Bridgerton Season 3 Premiere Dates Finally Revealed
- Trump suggestion that Egypt, Jordan absorb Palestinians from Gaza draws rejections, confusion
- Inflation continues to moderate thanks to a big drop in gas prices
- Benched Texas high school basketball player arrested for assaulting coach, authorities say
- Hunter Biden files motion to dismiss indictment on gun charges
Recommendation
Military service academies see drop in reported sexual assaults after alarming surge
Baseball's first cheater? The story of James 'Pud' Galvin and testicular fluid
Prosecutors want a former Albanian prime minister under house arrest on corruption charges
Polish far-right lawmaker extinguishes Hanukkah candle in parliament
McConnell absent from Senate on Thursday as he recovers from fall in Capitol
As Navalny vanishes from view in Russia, an ally calls it a Kremlin ploy to deepen his isolation
Live updates | Israel plans to keep fighting as other countries call for a cease-fire in Gaza
Katie Lee Biegel's Gift Guide Will Help You & Loved Ones Savor The Holiday Season