State Supreme Court rejects attorney general’s attempt to block innocence hearing for Marcellus Williams

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The state Supreme Court has denied a motion by Attorney General Andrew Bailey to prevent a hearing next month in a St. Louis district court to review evidence that could prove the innocence of Marcellus Williams.

Williams was sentenced to death in 2001 for the murder of Felicia Gayle, a former St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter who was killed in her home during a burglary in 1998.

In January, St. Louis County District Attorney Wesley Bell filed a motion to overturn Williams’ conviction and death sentence after DNA evidence came to light that implicated Williams as a suspect.

Last week, Bailey filed a motion asking the court to block the hearing. On Friday, the court dismissed the challenge and denied Bailey’s request for an injunction.

“We are relieved that the Missouri Supreme Court has rejected AG Bailey’s latest attempt to prevent the circuit court from considering the compelling evidence of Marcellus Williams’ innocence,” one of Williams’ attorneys and executive director of the Midwest Innocence Project, Tricia Rojo Bushnell, wrote in a statement. “No one should stand in the way of this hearing, requested by the county attorney, which is aimed at ensuring that Missouri does not execute an innocent man.

Bailey has a history of opposing overturned convictions and exonerations in the state. Most recently, he blocked the release of Christopher Dunn, whose conviction was overturned. A St. Louis circuit court ordered his release, but the state Supreme Court intervened at Bailey’s request.

Bailey’s office did not respond to a request for comment

A hearing in Williams’ case is scheduled for Aug. 21 in St. Louis County Circuit Court. Williams’ execution is scheduled for Sept. 24.