Marcellus Williams

The family of Marcellus Williams has reported receiving death threats since the state of Missouri executed him on Tuesday. A representative of his son said the threats were made via phone calls, emails and anonymous social media messages.

St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell unsuccessfully sought to halt Marcellus Williams’ execution earlier this week.

Marcellus Williams had always maintained that he had nothing to do with the stabbing death of a former St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter. State and federal courts rejected numerous last-minute requests to halt the execution and review the case.

Without intervention from the U.S. Supreme Court, Marcellus Williams will be executed after 6 p.m. Tuesday.

Williams is scheduled to be executed Tuesday for the 1998 killing of Felicia Gayle. His attorneys have launched multiple legal battles in an attempt to save his life.

Without intervention from Gov. Mike Parson or the U.S. Supreme Court, Marcellus Williams will be executed Sept. 24.

Without the ability to definitively link DNA found on the murder weapon to an alternate suspect, attorneys for Marcellus Williams relied on raising questions about the original conviction.

Two Missouri murder cases demonstrate how far an “actual innocence” claim can go.

The move by St. Louis County Circuit Judge Bruce Hilton came after the Missouri Supreme Court temporarily paused the deal at the request of Attorney General Andrew Bailey.

A St. Louis County circuit judge accepted a deal that will keep Marcellus Williams in prison for life without parole. Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey is appealing.