Marcellus Williams was executed in Missouri on Tuesday, having been convicted for the 1998 murder of Lisha Gayle , a former police reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch killed during a burglary at the St. Louis suburban home she shared with her physician husband.
Williams, 55, who had always maintained his innocence through two previous stays of execution, became the third inmate to be executed in Missouri this year, and the 15th person in the nation.
No DNA ever connected Williams to the murder weapon. In recent months, St. Louis County prosecutor Attorney Wesley Bell filed a motion to vacate the death sentence, presenting a new DNA lab report showing the murder weapon had been mishandled during Williams’ trial. The motion was denied, and Republican Gov. Mike Parson and the Missouri Supreme Court denied Williams clemency.
William’s execution Tuesday night sparked reactions from Missouri and across the nation. Here’s what to know.