JEFFERSON CITY — Death row inmates who were later freed because they were found innocent blasted Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey Thursday for attempting to block a hearing that could help free a man convicted in the 1998 killing a former ºüÀêÊÓƵ reporter.
As Bailey works to secure victory in Tuesday’s primary election, the four exonerees gathered in the Capitol to put renewed focus on an Aug. 21 hearing to determine whether Marcellus Williams is innocent in the death of Lisha Gayle.
Williams is scheduled to be executed Sept. 24.
Herman Lindsey, executive director of Witness to Innocence and a former death row inmate, said Williams deserves an opportunity to prove his innocence in court.
People are also reading…
“The execution of an innocent person is an irreversible travesty that should never be accepted as an inevitable outcome,†Lindsey said. “No one should be rushing to kill an innocent man.â€
Bailey, during an unrelated press conference later Thursday, said his office policy is to review death row cases with respect to the evidence that was used by jurors to convict a person.
“At the end of the day, the criminal justice system has to have a component of finality. I want to make sure we always honor the victims,†said Bailey, who is seeking a full, four-year term against Republican Will Scharf.
Lindsey said Bailey is employing campaign-style, tough-on-crime tactics in order to score a victory.
“This win-at-all-cost mentality does not serve the people,†Lindsey said.
On Friday, the Missouri Supreme Court denied Bailey’s request to block the August hearing. His office argued that the ºüÀêÊÓƵ County Circuit Court judge does not have the authority to reverse or overrule Marcellus Williams’ first-degree murder conviction because a higher court has already issued a ruling in the case and set an execution date.
The Missouri Supreme Court did not provide its reasoning for denying the request.
ºüÀêÊÓƵ County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell, who is also enmeshed in a Democratic primary race for the 1st Congressional District in ºüÀêÊÓƵ, filed a motion in January to vacate the murder conviction. It said he believed Williams was not involved in Gayle’s death because of new DNA evidence.
Bell is employing a 2021 Missouri law that allows prosecuting attorneys to file a motion to vacate a conviction if they believe an inmate could be innocent.
Williams, 55, was convicted of breaking into the suburban home of Gayle and stabbing her 43 times.
He was set to die in August 2017, but hours before his execution, then-Gov. Eric Greitens halted the process and ordered an investigation into DNA evidence that could not be tested at the time of the murder.
That evidence showed there was DNA on the knife used to stab Gayle that matched someone else, not Williams.
Death row exoneree Joseph Amrine, who served 17 years on death row before being exonerated, told reporters the state has nothing to gain by killing the wrong person.
“I hope the Attorney General’s office can change their approach and acknowledge there are human beings impacted by their actions,†Amrine said. “They like executing people for some reason.â€