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| Execution halted in US after DNA testing raised questions over inmate's guilt | Execution halted in US after DNA testing raised questions over inmate's guilt |
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| Marcellus Williams granted stay just hours before he was due to be put to death after tests on knife used in stabbing showed DNA of another person | |
| Associated Press | |
| Wed 23 Aug 2017 03.42 BST | |
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| The governor of Missouri halted the scheduled execution of condemned inmate Marcellus Williams after DNA testing raised questions about whether he was guilty. | The governor of Missouri halted the scheduled execution of condemned inmate Marcellus Williams after DNA testing raised questions about whether he was guilty. |
| Just hours before Williams was to be put to death, Republican governor Eric Greitens said in an email that he was issuing a stay of execution. Williams was convicted of fatally stabbing former St Louis Post-Dispatch reporter Lisha Gayle during a 1998 burglary at her suburban St Louis home. He was due to be executed on Tuesday evening. | Just hours before Williams was to be put to death, Republican governor Eric Greitens said in an email that he was issuing a stay of execution. Williams was convicted of fatally stabbing former St Louis Post-Dispatch reporter Lisha Gayle during a 1998 burglary at her suburban St Louis home. He was due to be executed on Tuesday evening. |
| Greitens’s decision came after Williams’s attorneys cited DNA evidence found on the murder weapon that matched another unknown person, but not Williams. St Louis county prosecutor Bob McCulloch has argued there was ample other evidence to convict Williams and “zero possibility” of his innocence. | Greitens’s decision came after Williams’s attorneys cited DNA evidence found on the murder weapon that matched another unknown person, but not Williams. St Louis county prosecutor Bob McCulloch has argued there was ample other evidence to convict Williams and “zero possibility” of his innocence. |
| “A sentence of death is the ultimate, permanent punishment,” Greitens said in his statement. “To carry out the death penalty, the people of Missouri must have confidence in the judgment of guilt.” | “A sentence of death is the ultimate, permanent punishment,” Greitens said in his statement. “To carry out the death penalty, the people of Missouri must have confidence in the judgment of guilt.” |
| Greitens said he would appoint a five-member board of inquiry made up of retired judges with subpoena power. The board would make a recommendation to the governor concerning whether the 48-year-old Williams should be executed. No timetable has been set. | Greitens said he would appoint a five-member board of inquiry made up of retired judges with subpoena power. The board would make a recommendation to the governor concerning whether the 48-year-old Williams should be executed. No timetable has been set. |
| Williams’s attorney, Kent Gipson, who had asked Greitens for clemency, said the stay of execution was “the appropriate thing to do” and suggested large-scale opposition to the execution was a factor in the governor’s decision. | Williams’s attorney, Kent Gipson, who had asked Greitens for clemency, said the stay of execution was “the appropriate thing to do” and suggested large-scale opposition to the execution was a factor in the governor’s decision. |
| “The people have spoken,” Gipson said. “This online petition had a quarter of a million signatures. The case has generated a lot of outrage all over the country and the world.” | “The people have spoken,” Gipson said. “This online petition had a quarter of a million signatures. The case has generated a lot of outrage all over the country and the world.” |
| Gipson also had appealed to the US supreme court about concerns over DNA testing of the knife in December using techniques that were not available when the killing occurred. He also cited previous DNA testing of hairs from Gayle’s shirt and fingernails that excluded Williams and said footprints at the scene did not match Williams. | Gipson also had appealed to the US supreme court about concerns over DNA testing of the knife in December using techniques that were not available when the killing occurred. He also cited previous DNA testing of hairs from Gayle’s shirt and fingernails that excluded Williams and said footprints at the scene did not match Williams. |
| McCulloch, the prosecutor, said in an interview on Tuesday that the DNA tests were simply “inconclusive” and “can neither include or exclude” Williams as the killer. | McCulloch, the prosecutor, said in an interview on Tuesday that the DNA tests were simply “inconclusive” and “can neither include or exclude” Williams as the killer. |
| “He is the one who committed this murder,” McCulloch said. “He made his decision 20 years ago to stay in that house. He heard Lisha Gayle walk down the stairs, and all he had to do was leave. He didn’t. And now he has to live with that decision — die with that decision.” | “He is the one who committed this murder,” McCulloch said. “He made his decision 20 years ago to stay in that house. He heard Lisha Gayle walk down the stairs, and all he had to do was leave. He didn’t. And now he has to live with that decision — die with that decision.” |
| After Greitens halted the execution, McCulloch released a statement saying courts had repeatedly upheld Williams’s conviction and sentence, and that he was confident the inquiry board and governor “will reach the same conclusion.” | After Greitens halted the execution, McCulloch released a statement saying courts had repeatedly upheld Williams’s conviction and sentence, and that he was confident the inquiry board and governor “will reach the same conclusion.” |
| Outside Greitens’ office in Jefferson City, execution protesters broke into a dance to celebrate the stay. Some wrote a thank-you note to the governor on the spot. “We are glad that you had the courage as a leader to exercise your power to promote truth and justice,” the note read. | Outside Greitens’ office in Jefferson City, execution protesters broke into a dance to celebrate the stay. Some wrote a thank-you note to the governor on the spot. “We are glad that you had the courage as a leader to exercise your power to promote truth and justice,” the note read. |
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