Overview

• St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell is seeking to overturn the conviction of Marcellus Williams, who has been on death row since 2001 for a murder he claims he did not commit.
• DNA testing of the murder weapon revealed male DNA that did not belong to Williams, supporting his claim of innocence.
• Prosecutors are using a Missouri law that allows them to intervene in cases when they have information that the convicted person may be innocent.
• Williams narrowly escaped execution in 2017 when then-Governor Eric Greitens halted the process and ordered an investigation based on the new DNA evidence.
• Williams' case is still pending as Bell's office and Williams' lawyers have asked the Missouri Supreme Court to delay setting an execution date.