Death penalty case to continue against man citing new DNA evidence in stabbing death of former St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter
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A death penalty case will continue against a Missouri man who is citing new DNA evidence in his innocence claim for the stabbing death of a former newspaper reporter, the governor announced Thursday. Republican Gov. Mike Parson dissolved a panel of five former judges who had been tasked with reviewing Marcellus Williams' case and ended a stay on his execution. No execution date has been set yet. Williams was convicted of killing former St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter Lisha Gayle during a 1998 burglary at her home in University City. Gayle, 42, was a reporter at the Post-Dispatch from 1981 to 1992 before leaving to do social work. "This Board was established nearly six years ago, and it is time to move forward," Parson said in a statement. "We could stall and delay for another six years, deferring justice, leaving a victim's family in limbo, and solving nothing. This administration won't do that."