Why would they deny testing at trial in the first place?
Why would they deny testing at trial in the first place?
Seems to me that the evidence is rather compelling - to the extent that DNA is going to prove " what " ? There has been ample time for the inmate to have requested DNA testing over the last 16 years and for him to request it at this point is clearly a " frivolous " attempt to delay justice.
Yep, agree it's a delaying tactic now, but why wouldn't it have been done anyway?
Supreme Court stays execution for man who fatally stabbed former Post-Dispatch reporter
The Missouri Supreme Court has issued a stay of execution for Marcellus Williams, who had been scheduled to die on Wednesday for the fatal stabbing of former Post-Dispatch reporter Lisha Gayle at her home in University City in 1998.
Williams had argued that he was entitled to additional DNA testing, and the high court put off the execution to give his claim time to be heard.
Williams killed Gayle, 42, at her home in the gated Ames Place neighborhood on Aug. 11, 1998. Williams was burglarizing the home when Gayle, who had been taking a shower, surprised him. He stabbed her repeatedly while she fought for her life.
A jury convicted Williams at a trial in 2001. He was sentenced to death by St. Louis County Circuit Judge Emmett M. O'Brien.
The judge also ordered Williams to serve consecutive terms of life in prison for robbery, 30 years for burglary and 30 years each for two weapons violations.
Before sentencing, Williams told the judge he lacked jurisdiction — that only God had that authority.
Gayle was a Post-Dispatch reporter from 1981-92. She left the paper to do volunteer social work with children and the poor.
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/c...5782a2a63.html
Possibly the expense and the question of whether it would have significantly improved the prosecution case at the time of the trial.
DNA isn't going to do anything except reinforce the case against him, but it'll quietly be forgotten about when it is done, just like the DNA testing done for Joseph O'Dell and Derek Barnabei.
I'm devastated that this X was stayed. I was yearning for an X-chat to tonight. :'(
August execution date set for Missouri inmate
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The Missouri Supreme Court has set an execution date for this summer for a man sentenced to death for the 1998 fatal stabbing of a former newspaper reporter during a burglary.
The state's high court on Wednesday scheduled Marcellus Williams to be executed Aug. 22 by injection for the slaying of Lisha Gayle.
Williams was burglarizing Gayle's University City home when he discovered that Gayle was in the shower. He took a knife from the kitchen and attacked her when she came downstairs, stabbing her more than 20 times before stealing a laptop computer and other items.
Gayle was a reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch for 11 years before leaving the paper in 1992.
http://www.kmbc.com/article/august-e...inmate/9564825
Last edited by Aaron; 04-26-2017 at 01:26 PM. Reason: Posting article
In today's orders, the United States Supreme Court declined to review Williams' petition for certiorari.
Lower Ct: Supreme Court of Missouri
Case Nos.: (SC94720)
Decision date: March 31, 2017
Don't ask questions, just consume product and then get excited for next products.
"They will hurt you. They will hurt your grandma, these people. The root cause of this is there's no discipline in the homes, they don't go to school, you know, they live off the government, no personal accountability, and they just beat people up for no reason, and it's disgusting." - Former Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters
Attorney for Missouri death row inmate requests stay of execution over new DNA evidence
A request for a stay of execution was filed Monday for a Missouri death row inmate who’s slated to die next week.
New tests show that Marcellus Williams’ DNA was not found on the knife that was used in the 1998 killing of former St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter Felicia Gayle in University City, according to Williams’ attorney, Kent Gipson of Kansas City.
Gipson said the DNA belongs to an unknown man. “We have two expert opinions based on the data that the male DNA found on the knife does not match him. And there are several points of dissimilarity. There’s really no doubt about it,” Gipson told St. Louis Public Radio.
He added that they're looking for a new trial, or "at the very least reduce his sentence from the death penalty to the life sentence."
If granted, it would be the second stay of execution for Williams. The first was granted in January 2015 by the state Supreme Court, which mandated the new DNA tests.
It isn’t clear when the court will make a decision. Williams is scheduled to be executed on Aug. 22.
Attorney General Josh Hawley didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
Department of Corrections spokesman David Owen recently said in an email that the agency is “prepared to carry out the … execution in accordance to the lethal injection protocol established in 2013.” The state uses one drug, the sedative pentobarbital, in executions, and has refused to disclose the supplier.
http://kbia.org/post/attorney-missou...dence#stream/0
Don't ask questions, just consume product and then get excited for next products.
"They will hurt you. They will hurt your grandma, these people. The root cause of this is there's no discipline in the homes, they don't go to school, you know, they live off the government, no personal accountability, and they just beat people up for no reason, and it's disgusting." - Former Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters
That was fast. Looks like they're tired of his delay tactics.
Missouri Supreme Court denies request for stay of execution
The Missouri Supreme Court will not stop next week's scheduled execution of Marcellus Williams, it said Tuesday.
The court said it will not review the new evidence that Marcellus Williams' attorney submitted Monday, but gave no explanation why. Kent Gipson had argued that said a new test proved Williams' DNA was not found on the knife that was used in the 1998 killing of former St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter Felicia Gayle in University City.
Gipson said he plans to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court and will ask Gov. Eric Greitens to intervene, too. He also said he was surprised with the speed in which the high court denied the stay.
"Certainly something involving a claim of innocence that is this substantial, you would think they would at least write an opinion or at least a short opinion giving the reasons why they denied it, because that makes it more difficult to take it up to a higher court because they don't know exactly on what basis the ruling was made," Gipson said.
Attorney General Josh Hawley's spokeswoman told The Associated Press that his office was confident Williams is guilty based on other evidence.
Gov. Eric Greitens spokesman Parker Briden said in a statement that the governor is "in the process of reviewing the case with our legal team."
Williams' first execution was postponed in January 2015. The 48-year-old is scheduled to be executed on Aug. 22.
Department of Corrections spokesman David Owen recently said in an email that the agency is “prepared to carry out the … execution in accordance to the lethal injection protocol established in 2013.” The state uses one drug, the sedative pentobarbital, in executions, and has refused to disclose the supplier.
http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/...stay-execution
Don't ask questions, just consume product and then get excited for next products.
"They will hurt you. They will hurt your grandma, these people. The root cause of this is there's no discipline in the homes, they don't go to school, you know, they live off the government, no personal accountability, and they just beat people up for no reason, and it's disgusting." - Former Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters
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