A judge declined Thursday to vacate the conviction and death sentence of Marcellus Williams , a Missouri man scheduled for execution later this month in the stabbing death of a woman in 1998, despite questions challenging DNA evidence on the knife used in the attack.
St. Louis County Circuit Judge Bruce Hilton presided over an evidentiary hearing last month challenging Williams’ guilt. Williams, 55, was convicted in the killing of Lisha Gayle, a social worker and former reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. His execution by lethal injection is scheduled for Sept. 24 .
“Every claim of error Williams has asserted on direct appeal, post-conviction review, and habeas review has been rejected by Missouri’s courts,” Hilton wrote. “There is no basis for a court to find that Williams is innocent, and no court has made such a finding. Williams is guilty of first-degree murder, and has been sentenced to death.”
Attorneys for Williams, the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and the Missouri Attorney General’s Office did not respond to messages left Thursday seeking comment.