Questions are still swirling around the execution of a Missouri man convicted of fatally stabbing a woman in 1998
JEFFERSON With the end of his life approaching, Missouri death row inmate Marcellus Williams was offered an opportunity to make a final statement to the world.
His words were few — neither proclaiming innocence nor admitting guilt in the 1998 murder of Lisha Gayle, a social worker and former St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter who was stabbed 43 times during a burglary of her suburban St. Louis home. Williams instead seemed to express peace with his fate, writing simply: “All Praise Be To Allah In Every Situation!!!”
Williams’ execution Tuesday has left others to debate whether it should have occurred.
Missouri’s governor, attorney general and top court remain convinced of his guilt. Those who advocated for him continue to insist he was innocent. The St. Louis County prosecutor, citing lingering questions, believes Williams’ sentence should have been converted to life in prison. Gayle’s family, though not publicly outspoken, also joined in a request to let Williams live.
The Missouri execution, carried out at a prison in Bonne Terre, was one of five scheduled within a week in the U.S., renewing a long-running debate over how the death penalty is applied in the states.
When Gayle was killed, items stolen from her home were later sold by Williams or found in his possession. A former girlfriend and an inmate who shared a cell with Williams also testified at his trial that he confessed to killing Gayle.
The ex-girlfriend told police that when Williams picked her up on the day of the Gayle’s death, she noticed he was wearing a jacket even though it was hot outside, and that there was blood on his shirt, scratches on his neck and a laptop in his car. She told police that when she looked in the car’s trunk the next day, she found a purse that contained Gayle’s identification.
When police searched Williams’ car more than a year after Gayle’s death, they found a St. Louis Post-Dispatch ruler and calculator that had belonged to Gayle. Police also recovered a laptop stolen from Gayle’s home from a man who had bought it from Williams.
Williams’ attorneys argued that the ex-girlfriend and cellmate were convicted felons who wanted part of a $10,000 reward.
