CLAYTON, Mo. – A critical hearing happens in just hours, as it could exonerate a man on death row convicted of killing a post-dispatch reporter in 1998.

An evidentiary hearing for Marcellus Williams is set to take place at 8:30 a.m. inside the St. Louis County Courthouse on Wednesday morning.

Williams is set to be executed for the murder of Lisha Gayle on September 24th, but Wednesday’s hearing could certainly change all of that. Williams has spent many years on death row, proclaiming his innocence in this case.

St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell filed a motion in January to vacate the murder conviction because of new DNA evidence. But Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey wants the execution to proceed. In fact, Bailey tried unsuccessfully to block Wednesday’s hearing.

Representatives from both sides will make their cases in court Wednesday morning. Williams was convicted of breaking into Gayle’s suburban St. Louis home back in 1998 and stabbing her 43 times, killing her.

He was originally set to die back in 2017, but then Governor Eric Greitens halted the execution and ordered an investigation into DNA evidence that could not be tested when the murder happened. That testing reportedly showed that the DNA on the murder weapon did not belong to Williams.

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In his motion to vacate the conviction, Bell says that the forensic evidence found at the crime scene, including fingerprints, footprints, and DNA on the murder weapon, does not match Williams.

Bell’s motion goes on to say that the conviction was based on the testimony of two witnesses who were incentivized to testify.

It’s unclear when any ruling might be made from today’s hearing. There is a rally for Williams set to take place outside of the courthouse on Wednesday.

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