Maeve Bidonde, Staff Writer
Last Tuesday, Sept. 24, 55-year-old Marcellus Williams was executed after having been found guilty of a 1998 murder case of 42-year-old Felicia “Lisha” Gayle. Williams’ attorneys and Gayle’s family didn’t wish for Williams to be sentenced to death. Gayle’s family believed Williams should’ve been given life in prison without the possibility for parole instead.
In 1998, Williams broke into Gayle’s house and believed himself to be alone until he heard the shower running. Williams then grabbed a large butcher knife and stabbed Gayle 43 times when she came downstairs. Williams stole her purse, her husband’s laptop and stole a jacket to cover up blood on his shirt before leaving the house. Gayle was a social worker and former St. Louis post-dispatcher at the time of her death. During the trial prosecutors used the testimony from Williams’ cellmate, Henry Cole. Cole said Williams admitted to the murder and then told him the details.
During the trial Williams’ attorneys pointed out the fingerprints, hair, and a bloody shoe print that were found at the scene don’t match Williams. Soon after, a crime scene investigator testified that the murderer wore gloves. There were some questions about DNA evidence that led St. Louis Prosecuting Attorney, Wesley Bell, to request a hearing to challenge Williams’ guilt. However, days before the hearing was supposed to take place, it was determined the DNA on the knife was from DA office members failing to handle the knife properly with gloves on after the initial test performed by the crime lab…