Attorney for Missouri man seeking to halt execution cites exclusion of potential Black juror
Associated Press
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — An attorney for a Missouri man facing execution is arguing to halt the lethal injection because the trial prosecutor prevented a Black man who looked similar to the defendant from serving on the jury. Marcellus Williams is scheduled to be executed Tuesday for the 1998 stabbing death of Lisha Gayle in suburban St. Louis. Williams has maintained his innocence. But Monday’s arguments before the Missouri Supreme Court didn’t focus on that. They instead focused on whether the prosecution wrongly excluded a potential juror and mishandled the knife used in the murder, effectively messing up DNA testing. Attorneys for Williams also has a clemency petition before Gov. Mike Parson.
