The Innocence Project has taken on this case and is urgently asking the public to sign a petition to stop Marcellus Williams’s execution, which is currently scheduled for September 24, 2024. Missouri Governor Mike Parson has denied a pardon for Marcellus, despite overwhelming evidence that suggests he did not commit the murder for which he was convicted. The governor has not only ignored the evidence but also set an execution date, leaving many baffled and outraged by his refusal to reconsider the case.
A Call to Action
We encourage you to listen to the details of this case and, if you find yourself in agreement, sign the petition to stop Marcellus Williams's execution. The Innocence Project argues that there is exculpatory DNA evidence that could prove Marcellus’s innocence.
The Background of Marcellus Williams
Marcellus Wallace was born on December 30, 1968. In 2000, he was convicted of the robbery and murder of Felicia Gayle, a St. Louis resident and former reporter for the St. Louis Post. Felicia was brutally murdered on August 11, 1998, stabbed 43 times in her home. At the time, she was 42 or 43 years old. Felicia lived in a gated community and was known for her volunteer work in disadvantaged communities. She was found by her husband, Dr. Daniel Picus, at the bottom of the stairs with a knife still lodged in her neck.
Three weeks after the murder, Marcellus was arrested for a separate crime. Some of Felicia’s missing items were found in his car, including her husband’s laptop, which Marcellus admitted to selling. However, he claimed that the laptop was given to him by his girlfriend at the time, Laura Asaro, to sell.
Despite the lack of physical evidence linking Marcellus to the murder scene, he was charged and convicted of first-degree murder, robbery, and burglary. The case against him was built primarily on testimonies from two informants, both of whom had questionable motives and credibility.
Unreliable Testimonies and Questionable Evidence
According to the Innocence Project, “Mr. Williams’s case is riddled with unreliable incentivized testimonies and a complete absence of physical evidence linking him to the crime scene.” Neither the courts nor the prosecution considered the exculpatory DNA evidence, which indisputably excluded Marcellus Williams as a contributor. Despite this evidence pointing to his innocence, he remains on death row more than two decades after his initial arrest.
The case hinged on the testimonies of Laura Asaro, Marcellus’s girlfriend, and Henry Cole, his cellmate. Both witnesses presented inconsistent stories that contradicted not only each other but also their own previous statements. Laura claimed to have found a blood-stained shirt and items belonging to Felicia in Marcellus’s car shortly after the murder. She also claimed that Marcellus had scratches on him that she believed were from Felicia. However, DNA evidence later revealed that the DNA from the scene did not match Marcellus’s DNA.
Henry Cole, a jailhouse informant, testified that Marcellus confessed to the murder while they were cellmates. However, Cole’s testimony was suspiciously vague and seemed to be based on information that was publicly available through news reports. It’s important to note that both Laura and Henry were incentivized to testify against Marcellus, with Henry being promised $5,000 and Laura allegedly receiving rewards from the state.
The Overlooked DNA Evidence
For years, the courts refused to allow DNA testing on the murder weapon. Finally, in 2015, 17 years after the murder, the court permitted the testing. The results were significant: the DNA on the weapon belonged to a male, but it did not match Marcellus. Additionally, DNA found under Felicia’s fingernails, indicating she had scratched her attacker, did not match Marcellus either.
Other key pieces of evidence include bloody footprints found at the scene that did not match Marcellus’s shoe size and unidentified hairs that did not belong to Marcellus, Felicia, or her husband. Despite knowing about this evidence at the time of the trial, the defense was not allowed to present it to the jury.
A Stay of Execution and the Fight for Justice
In 2017, Marcellus received his first stay of execution when the DNA evidence was brought to the attention of the public. The Governor of Missouri at the time, Eric Greitens, granted the stay just hours before Marcellus was set to be executed. This decision was based on the DNA evidence that excluded Marcellus as a contributor to the crime scene.
Marcellus remains on death row at the Potosi Correctional Center in Mineral Point, Missouri. He has a new hearing set for August 21, 2024, and we will be following the outcome closely.
A Call for Help
We conducted our research on this case quickly due to time constraints, as we felt it was important to get this information out to the public as soon as possible. If you have additional information or if we receive a response from Marcellus’s attorney, we will update this post.
If, after reading about this case, you feel inclined to take action, please consider signing the petition to stop Marcellus Williams’s execution. The petition can be found here. As of July 15, 2024, there were 111,929 signatures.