Marcellus Williams, a Missouri death row inmate, has filed a lawsuit against Governor Mike Parson and Attorney General Andrew Bailey, claiming his planned execution violates due process, as DNA evidence suggests his innocence. The suit alleges the illegal dissolution of a board meant to review his case.
"Knowing that, the state of Missouri still seeks to execute him. That is not justice," Tricia Rojo Bushnell, executive director of the Midwest Innocence Project, said.
Williams' lawsuit alleges that his scheduled execution has been unlawfully reinstated despite DNA evidence suggesting his innocence. The lawsuit was submitted in Missouri's 19th Circuit Court, according to a press release issued by Midwest Innocence Project.
The press release states that Governor Parson acted illegally by dissolving a board of inquiry, initially established by former Governor Eric Greitens. This board, created under a 1963 Missouri statute, was responsible for reviewing claims of innocence in death penalty cases and was comprised of five retired judges. Attorney General Bailey is accused in the lawsuit of scheduling Williams' execution without waiting for the board's report or recommendation.
Governor Parson rescinded the executive order that established the board, effectively ending its work. Williams' lawsuit claims that this move violates the 1963 Missouri law and his constitutional due process rights, according to the press release.
Williams has been in prison for 24 years, convicted of the 1998 murder of Felicia Gayle, a former St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter. He was sentenced primarily based on the testimonies of two incentivized witnesses, despite the lack of physical evidence linking him to the crime. The press release notes that subsequent DNA testing in 2016 excluded Williams as the source of male DNA found on the murder weapon, as well as ruling him out as the source of hairs and bloody footprints discovered at the crime scene.
Various legal advocacy groups have publicly commented on the case. Bushnell observed that no judge has yet reviewed the full body of evidence supporting Williams' innocence. Barry C. Scheck, co-founder of the Innocence Project, criticized Governor Parson for violating Williams' due process rights. Charles Weiss, a partner at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, the firm representing Williams, was quoted in the press release as saying, "There is clear and convincing evidence that Marcellus Williams did not murder Ms. Gayle. It would be a grievous tragedy for the state to execute Mr. Williams without allowing the board of inquiry to complete its work."
Scheck further emphasized in the press release that Governor Parson's action of dissolving the board breaches Williams' due process rights under both state and federal constitutions.
