With only months to spare, vacate hearing set for Marcellus Williams ahead of execution

ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - A hearing date has been set to for death row inmate Marcellus Williams to determine if he should have his conviction vacated.

The hearing will take place Aug. 21, just over a month ahead of Williams's execution date , which is scheduled for Sept. 24.

Special Council Matthew Jacober says their "goal all along is to make sure that we have a hearing in advance of the execution date that gives the court sufficient time to review the record and make a reasoned decision."

Jacober praised St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell, saying "justice requires a prosecutor to not just get a conviction but it requires a prosecutor to ensure the convictions are proper, and that's what we're doing here"

Jacober says new DNA evidence will exonerate Williams.

"[Their] DNA expert has analyzed the murder weapon and while she can't identify whose DNA is on it, the Y STR DNA testing does allow her to conclude that Mr. Williams's DNA is not on there," said Jacober.

Following a hearing date being set, Bell expressed his gratitude for the court acting swiftly and giving them a hearing in this "important matter of life or death."

Bell says he recognizes this is an unprecedented situation, acknowledging this is the first time a prosecutors has used their new power to file a motion to vacate to intervene on a death penalty case - let alone with an execution date pending in less than three months.

Trisha Bushnell, an attorney for Williams praised Bell for taking appropriate steps under to correct Williams's conviction.

Bushnell goes on to say The Attorney General should not be trying to block the court’s review and the Missouri Supreme Court should stay Mr. Williams’s execution.

Williams was sentenced to death in 2001 for the 1998 murder of Post Dispatch reporter Felicia Gayle during a robbery of her suburban St. Louis home.

Williams was originally supposed to be executed in August 2017, but then- Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens, a Republican, halted the process and ordered an investigation. Greitens cited DNA testing unavailable at the time of the killing showing that DNA on the knife used to stab Gayle matched someone else, not Williams.

A 2021 Missouri law allows prosecuting attorneys to file a motion to vacate a conviction if they believe the inmate could be innocent or was otherwise erroneously convicted. The filing prompts a hearing before a judge.