JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Advocates from all over the country, including the Midwest Innocence Project, are still campaigning for Marcellus Williams’ pardon with less than 48 hours before his execution by the state.
On Monday, the Missouri Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Williams’ case. Attorneys have also filed an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court.
Protestors and activists will be in Jefferson City on Monday.
“Killing people does not work; it does not fix anything. And also, it’s worse the fact that we kill and have killed innocent people,” Michelle Smith, co-director of Missourians to Abolish the Death Penalty , said.
At present, Williams is housed at the Potosi Correctional Center in Mineral Point, according to the Missouri Department of Corrections website. Soon, Williams will be relocated to the Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Bonne Terre to await execution by lethal injection on Tuesday, Sept. 24.
Williams, 55, was convicted of first-degree murder in the August 1998 stabbing death of Lisha Gayle during a robbery of her suburban St. Louis home. He has long maintained his innocence.