Missouri Execution Halted With Just Hours Remaining

ST. LOUIS, MO — Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens prevented an inmate from being executed Tuesday after DNA evidence raised questions about whether he actually stabbed a former St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter to death during a burglary at her suburban St. Louis home 19 years ago.

Greitens, a Republican, said in an email he was issuing a stay of execution for Marcellus Williams, just hours before Williams was to be put to death. Williams was convicted of killing Lisha Gayle in University City in 1998. His execution was slated for 6 p.m. Tuesday.

The decision comes after Williams' attorneys said DNA evidence on the murder weapon pointed to someone else — an unknown person St. Louis County prosecutor Bob McCulloch said there was plenty of other evidence to convict Williams though, and said there was "zero possibility" he was innocent. (For more information on Marcellus Williams' case and other University City stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

"A sentence of death is the ultimate, permanent punishment," Greitens said in his statement. "To carry out the death penalty, the people of Missouri must have confidence in the judgment of guilt."

Greitens said he will appoint a five-member board of inquiry that will be made up of retired judges who will have subpoena power. The board will recommend whether to execute Williams. A timetable hasn't been established.

Williams' attorney, Kent Gipson, called the stay "the appropriate thing to do." He believes large-scale protests were a factor in the governor's decision.

"The people have spoken," Gipson said. "This online petition had a quarter of a million signatures. The case has generated a lot of outrage all over the country and the world."

By JIM SALTER , Associated Press

Associated Press writer Jim Suhr contributed to this report.

Photo credit: Missouri Department of Corrections via AP