PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Gayle, 42, at the time of her death, was stabbed to death in her apartment on Aug. 11, 1998 at her home in the 6900 block of Kingsbury Boulevard in University City. Several items were found to be missing, including her purse, jacket and a laptop computer. Picus later offered a $10,000 reward which was split between two people who came forward with information used to convict Williams. Attorneys for Williams have questioned the credibility of both. Henry Cole shared a cell with Williams as he was detained in August 1989 on an unrelated charge. He told authorities that Williams admitted to killing Gayle. Williams’ girlfriend when the murder happened also gave testimony against him."
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STORY: "Bell seeks to exclude affidavit of victim’s husband during upcoming Marcellus Williams hearing," by Digital Producer Pat Pratt, published by KMOV, on August 17, 2024.
{PREAMBLE: "The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office is seeking to exclude an affidavit by the husband of murder victim Felicia Gayle from being admitted as evidence during a hearing Wednesday seeking to exonerate Marcellus Williams, who was convicted in 1998 of killing her and is currently on death row."
GIST: "In January, St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell filed a motion to vacate Williams’ conviction. The motion was filed under a law passed in 2021 in Missouri which allows prosecutors to seek to vacate a conviction they believe was made in error.
Circuit Judge Bruce Hilton will preside during a hearing on the matter set for 8:30 a.m. Wednesday in St. Louis County Court.
Bell’s case argues following testing, that DNA on the knife used to kill Gayle did not belong to Williams. Former Gov. Eric Greitens also halted his execution in 2017 when the new DNA evidence came to light and ordered an investigation, which was halted in June by current Missouri Gov. Mike Parson.
During a pretrial hearing on Friday, Hilton was presented a motion by Bell to exclude from testimony the affidavit of Dr. Daniel Picus, the husband of Gayle.
In the affidavit, Picus states that the couple had parties where guests used kitchen utensils, that he used the knife multiple times and that an assistant prosecuting attorney handled the knife with bare hands during trial.
“When the prosecuting attorney for the state Keith Larner presented the knife at trial, I remember he was holding the knife by the handle,” the affidavit states. “The knife handle was not in a bag or other container. While I can not remember if Larner handed me the knife, I remember Larner handed the knife to several other people and asked them to identify it.”
Bell argues Picus saying that others “could have” handled the knife is speculation and should not be admissible. He also says the DNA on the knife is not that of Picus, which was proven by additional testing.
Bell also challenges the notarization of the affidavit, which was made remotely as Picus is currently abroad. That Picus is currently out of the country is also an issue, as prosecutors would have no opportunity to cross-examine him.
Picus’ affidavit was submitted as a witness exhibit by Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, who has in recent months challenged cases filed under the 2021 law giving powers to prosecutors in challenging wrongful convictions.
Most recently, he tried to block the release from prison of Christopher Dunn, who was exonerated by a St. Louis circuit judge after spending more than 30 years in prison.
Bailey previously asked the Missouri Supreme Court to put a halt to Bell’s case, which was denied. The state attorney general argues evidence presented at trial shows he is guilty of killing Gayle. He also argues Williams’ appeals are exhausted and the circuit court does not have the authority to hear the case.
She said he picked her up wearing a jacket despite the summer heat and when he removed it, she saw blood on Williams’ clothes.
She also told investigators she found Gayle’s purse in the trunk of a car he had been driving. When she confronted him, he allegedly confessed to the murder, according to court documents.
Williams is set to be executed on Sept. 24 at the Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Bonne Terre.
The entire story can be read at:
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.
- SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL:
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985
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FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;