The fate of a Missouri death row inmate whose execution was halted last year after DNA evidence raised questions about his case is on hold as a result of former Gov. Eric Greitens' resignation.
Marcellus Williams, 49, was hours away from being put to death in August when Greitens halted the execution. Williams was convicted of fatally stabbing former St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter Lisha Gayle during a 1998 burglary at her suburban St. Louis home, but DNA evidence found on the murder weapon matched another unknown person.
Greitens, a Republican, appointed a board of inquiry made up of five retired judges to look into the case. The board was scheduled to meet Tuesday in the governor's office but canceled, citing confusion about whether its authority continues after Greitens resigned last week.
Greitens left office after months of investigations related to a 2015 extramarital affair and his alleged use of a charity donor list for political purposes. He was replaced by Republican Lt. Gov. Mike Parson.
"The Board of Inquiry canceled the meeting they had scheduled for Tuesday and another meeting has not been scheduled," Parson's spokesperson, Kelli Jones, told the News Tribune. "The board will suspend its work pending guidance from Gov. Parson."
Williams' supporters gathered Tuesday in front of the Missouri Supreme Court in Jefferson City. His only child, Marcellus Williams II, was among them.
"My father is 6-foot-6 and Lisha Gayle was a very small woman, and because he is a large man, he would not have needed to have stabbed this woman multiple times," he said. "There's just too much doubt in this case, and that alone should exonerate him. They get it wrong too many times in this country, especially in this state, to want to put somebody on death row and take their life."
Two men released from death row also spoke in support of Williams.
Joe Amrine already was serving time in prison when he was convicted in the stabbing death of a fellow Missouri State Penitentiary inmate in Jefferson City in 1986. He maintained his innocence for years, and in July 2003 - after 17 years on death row - he was freed after it was found there was no credible evidence linking him to the crime and fellow inmates admitted they lied when testifying at his trial.
"We know what it's like to spend years waiting to be found innocent of a crime you didn't commit," Amrine said.
Reggie Griffin was charged with stabbing a fellow inmate at Moberly Correctional Center and convicted in 1988 based on the word of two prison informants who received reduced sentences for their testimony. The Missouri Supreme Court eventually found prosecutors had withheld evidence that guards confiscated the murder weapon from another inmate, not Griffin, and the two informants had never said Griffin was involved in the crime.
"Not only did it take its toll on me, it also took a toll on my family," Griffin said.
Nimrod Chapel, president of the Missouri State Conference of the NAACP and a supporter of Williams', urged Parson to allow the panel to continue its work.
"Gov. Greitens' issues are their own, but one thing he got right was ensuring that we are going to be dead certain that we are executing the right person for the right crime," Chapel said. "I think that's a piece of leadership we need to hold onto in Missouri."
Williams' attorneys claim authorities have lost fingerprints from the crime scene and footprints at the crime scene didn't match Williams'. They say that their client was convicted by testimony from two witnesses - Williams' ex-girlfriend and a jailhouse informant, both of whom were paid for their testimony.
Despite the DNA claim, St. Louis County prosecutor Bob McCulloch said last year there was "zero possibility" Williams was innocent, citing ample other evidence.
Prosecutors said Williams broke a window pane to get inside Gayle's home Aug. 11, 1998, heard water running in the shower, and found a large butcher knife. When Gayle came downstairs, she was stabbed 43 times. Her purse and her husband's laptop were stolen.
Authorities said Williams stole a jacket to conceal blood on his shirt. Williams' girlfriend later asked him why he would wear a jacket on such a hot day. The girlfriend said she later saw the laptop in the car and that Williams sold it a day or two later.
Prosecutors also cited testimony from Henry Cole, who shared a cell with Williams in 1999 while Williams was jailed in St. Louis on unrelated charges. Cole told prosecutors Williams confessed to the killing and offered details about it.
Williams' attorneys responded the girlfriend and Cole both were convicted felons who were out for a $10,000 reward.
Gayle, 42, was a reporter at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch from 1981-92. She left journalism to do social work.
News Tribune reporter Jeff Haldiman contributed information to this article.