Missouri death row inmate appeals to US Supreme Court

ST. LOUIS – Attorneys for a Missouri man convicted of killing a former St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter 19 years ago are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to halt the prisoner’s execution scheduled for next week.

Marcellus Williams is set to die by injection Tuesday at the state prison in Bonne Terre for fatally stabbing Lisha Gayle during a 1998 robbery at her home in University City.

The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday turned down Williams’ request to either appoint a special master to hear his case again or vacate the death sentence. His attorneys say new testing conducted in December showed that DNA found on the knife does not match Williams.

A spokeswoman for Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley says the state remains confident in other evidence in the case.