PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Everything has to be filed in the case by Wednesday so Judge Hilton can make a ruling that will likely decide Williams’ fate. Judge Hilton has to rule by September 13th. We’re told the judge can either allow the execution to go forward or vacate the original conviction. Williams is set to be executed on September 24th."
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STORY: "Filings due in Marcellus Williams death penalty case," ny Reporter Chris Regnier, published by fox2news, on September 4, 2024.
GIST: "The ongoing legal saga of Marcellus Williams is back in the spotlight Wednesday as Williams is set to be executed on September 24 for killing a former Post-Dispatch reporter.
Wednesday is the deadline for attorneys in the case to submit all of their filings to the judge. This comes after a critical evidentiary hearing took place last week inside the St. Louis County Courthouse in Clayton before Judge Bruce Hilton.
Marcellus Williams was convicted of stabbing to death former St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter Lisha Gayle inside of her University City home back in 1998. But Williams claims he’s innocent.St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell filed a motion to vacate Williams’ conviction because of DNA analysis done on the murder weapon, which was not available when Williams was originally convicted.
The testing revealed that Williams’ DNA was not on the knife used in the murder, leading some to argue that he was not the killer. But then questions were raised about the DNA evidence being mishandled and contaminated by original members of the prosecution team.
Williams agreed to take a plea deal where he would spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole but would avoid execution. However, Missouri Attorney Andrew Bailey opposed that deal and went to the Missouri Supreme Court to stop it.
The high court agreed with Bailey, leading to last week’s hearing. Questions about the DNA and other issues in Williams’ original trial were argued during the six-hour hearing.
Bell’s office, the Attorney General, and attorneys for Williams all made their cases to judge Bruce Hilton.
Everything has to be filed in the case by Wednesday so Judge Hilton can make a ruling that will likely decide Williams’ fate. Judge Hilton has to rule by September 13th. We’re told the judge can either allow the execution to go forward or vacate the original conviction.
Williams is set to be executed on September 24th."
The entire story can be read at:
https://fox2now.com/news/
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/
- 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;
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Tune into The Charles Smith Blog at:
http://www.smithforensic.
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