JEFFERSON CITY • It’s been eight months since Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens halted the execution of a man convicted of murdering a former Post-Dispatch reporter.
In doing so, Greitens appointed a special panel of former judges to review whether Marcellus Williams should be granted clemency in the case involving the death in 1998 of Lisha Gayle.
For Williams, time has stopped in his death row cell in a prison 75 miles south of the site of the University City murder scene.
“He’s just Marcellus. He’s living day by day. He thinks whatever happens is God’s will,†Williams’ attorney Kent Gipson said.
Williams was 29 when he was charged with murdering Gayle. At the time, he had been convicted of burglary and was later convicted of an unrelated armed robbery at a restaurant.
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While Williams awaits his fate in the Potosi Correctional Center, the panel of retired judges is in the midst of a rare review of his controversial case, one that could result in his avoiding lethal injection for the second time.
In a recent interview, former U.S. District Judge Carol Jackson told the Post-Dispatch that the special board of judges had met twice since it was formed. The first meeting was held in November, when the jurists received transcripts of Williams’ trial, information on DNA testing that was done in 2016 and other background information on Williams’ case, including opinions from various state and federal appeals.
The second meeting came in March.
“We had quite a lot of material to review. The trial transcript was over 3,000 pages long,†said Jackson, who was chosen to be chairwoman of the panel after Greitens called off the scheduled execution of Williams amid claims by his attorneys that recent DNA tests could prove their client’s innocence.
Other members of the panel include former 22nd Circuit Judge Michael David, former Circuit Judge Peggy Fenner of Jackson County, former Missouri Court of Appeals Western District Judge Paul Spinden and former Circuit Judge Ellen Roper of Boone County.
Williams was convicted of murdering Gayle at her home in University City. Prosecutors said Williams was burglarizing the home when Gayle, who had been taking a shower, surprised him. The former reporter, who left the paper in 1992, fought for her life as she was stabbed repeatedly.
Williams was convicted in 2001.
The Missouri Supreme Court in 2015 . Using technology that was not available at the time of the killing, those tests show that DNA found on the knife matched that of an unknown male. Williams’ DNA was not found on the knife.
Despite that finding, the state’s high court and either appoint a special master to hear his innocence claim or vacate the death sentence and order his sentence commuted to life in prison.
With the clock ticking on Williams’ scheduled execution by injection, Greitens invoked a rarely used giving him discretion to appoint a panel of judges to gather information and report back on whether a person condemned to death should be executed.
The judges have the power to subpoena witnesses and evidence. Jackson said the next meeting in June would include discussions with attorneys for Williams and the state.
Gipson, of Kansas City, said he was unsure how the meeting would go. He would like to present Williams’ entire case to the panel, but he believes the session may be more limited.
“What we’re wanting to do is to be able to present testimony like in a trial,†Gipson said. “We don’t know exactly what is going to happen.â€
Greitens’ legal counsel, Lucinda Luetkemeyer, said the information collected by the panel would help the governor decide his next move. She said the governor had put no deadline on the work of the board.
Since 2000, Missouri has executed 58 people. Their names, and the names of their victims and brief details about the crimes, are listed here.
“The governor’s office wants the Board of Inquiry to take as much time as it wants to complete a fair and thorough report. There really is no time frame,†Luetkemeyer said. “The governor has complete confidence in the committee and the progress they’ve made thus far.â€
Jackson said the June meeting could help the board focus on writing their report to the governor.
“I think all of us have questions about the information that we’ve received,†Jackson said. “We just really want to get some clarification from them and give them the opportunity to present their best case to us.â€
Although she said the panel had not been given a deadline to submit a report, the group is not moving slowly.
“We are mindful of the interest in having this issue resolved as expeditiously as possible,†Jackson said. “We are all committed to working as quickly as we can.â€
As for any early conclusions about Williams’ fate, Jackson said, “I think it’s safe to say we are all keeping an open mind at this point. We really haven’t had a chance to discuss all of the evidence together in any great detail.â€