By Jerald Jimenez
28 Aug 2024, 10:36 AM EDT
A Missouri man on death row will have a chance to save his life and prove his innocence in the 1998 murder of a woman, and a DNA test could determine his fate.
Marcellus Williams, 55, was convicted of stabbing Lisha Gayle to death in the St. Louis suburb of University City, but recent discoveries about tampering with DNA evidence have raised questions about his guilt.
St. Louis County Circuit Judge Bruce Hilton will preside over an evidentiary hearing to review the validity of the evidence that convicted Williams. Under Missouri law from 2021, prosecutors will be able to seek to overturn convictions they deem unjust.
St. Louis County District Attorney Wesley Bell filed a motion in January after reviewing DNA evidence that was not available at the original 2001 trial. That evidence indicated Williams’ DNA was not present on the murder weapon.
On Aug. 21, instead of a public hearing, attorneys met behind closed doors, when Matthew Jacober, a special prosecutor in Bell’s office, revealed that the DNA evidence was tainted, making it impossible to prove Williams’ innocence.
Recent tests showed the presence of DNA from Edward Magee, the prosecution’s investigator at the time of the trial, and did not rule out the presence of the original prosecutor, Keith Larner.
Jacober testified that evidence was mishandled between 1998 and 2001, leading to a deal between Williams’ attorneys and the prosecution: Williams would enter a new no-contest plea to first-degree murder in exchange for a sentence of life in prison without parole, which was approved by Judge Hilton and Gayle’s family.
However, attorneys for the Missouri Attorney General’s Office, led by Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey, blocked the deal. The Missouri Supreme Court ordered Hilton to proceed with the evidentiary hearing.
Judge Hilton is expected to hand down a sentence in mid-September, which will determine whether Williams will be executed or whether his conviction will be reviewed.
With information from Associated Press