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[ghostwritingduck]

Again, when your only evidence is two testimonies (after posting a $10,000 reward), and a victims items, that's not much of a case. Testimonies are made to fit the crime by police interrogators all the time, and there is some speculation that this was the case even here. If you look at all the physical evidence, including multiple DNA sources and his footprints, and none of it points to him being the one to commit the murder (and rather an unspecified third party), that is not enough evidence to convict him.

Granted, that DNA testing wasn't available at the time, but if it was, I would have voted to acquit, because it absolutely does not constitute an overwhelming preponderance of evidence. Certainly, if we're going to kill someone at all (and I'm of the opinion the death penalty is never warranted), every bit of evidence has to show their guilt, and that isn't true in this case whatsoever.

Death penalty is messed up for all sorts of reasons including false convictions, but I feel comfortable saying he was responsible beyond reasonable doubt.

Two seperate people knowing unpublished specifics about the murder and Marcellus having the victims possessions only makes sense if you're going to argue that they were the actual murderers and planted the evidence to collect $10,000 years later. You can't even blame the police since the husbands laptop was missing before they even got there.

 

[VanWinkle]

Can't stand the death penalty. THIS SHOULD NEVER HAPPEN.

 

[Jerm411]

Fuck Eric Greitens...can't believe the morons of my state elected him.

I made a call, fell on deaf ears...the lady I spoke to didn't even know what I was talking about.

I stay in constant shame of my home state....

 

[Garlador]

How do you think Marcellus' cellmate knew to accuse him of murdering the person he did? Was it just luck that he named someone who was murdered, accused Marcellus, and Marcellus coincidentally had sold her stolen items and still in possession of others?

Check the Atlantic article above to see why his lack of DNA being collected doesn't clear him of being involved.

He very likely could be involved, but there is reasonable doubt he murdered her.

 

[n64coder]

How do you think Marcellus' cellmate knew to accuse him of murdering the person he did? Was it just luck that he named someone who was murdered, accused Marcellus, and Marcellus coincidentally had sold her stolen items and still in possession of others?

Check the Atlantic article above to see why his lack of DNA being collected doesn't clear him of being involved.

Thanks for providing more information on the case. I would like to hear more if anyone has info. Still against the death penalty for any crime.

 

[Ascenion]

Can't stand the death penalty. THIS SHOULD NEVER HAPPEN.

I don't know if I agree or disagree, but I can tell you that people like Dylan Roof...I'd rather not pay for scum like that to live a full life so I'm generally okay with my taxes funding his needle. I will call for this guy though.

 

[Banana Aeon]

I don't know if I agree or disagree, but I can tell you that people like Dylan Roof...I'd rather not pay for scum like that to live a full life so I'm generally okay with my taxes funding his needle. I will call for this guy though.

It's more expensive to pay for an execution though.

There are no circumstances where the death penalty is acceptable.

 

[Ascenion]

It's more expensive to pay for an execution though.

There are no circumstances where the death penalty is acceptable.

I'm aware. I'm just saying if I gotta pay for it regardless I'd just rather people like him be dead.

 

[GK86]

They are still going through with this shit?

Edit -

 

[ZOONAMI]

State sanctioned straight up murder.

 

[UberTag]

They are still going through with this shit?

Apparently they didn't get enough phone calls.
Hope they let him look at the eclipse yesterday at least.

The festivities kick off at 7pm tonight. Hope they all go out for drinks afterwards so they can revel in the fact that they killed an innocent black man and will face no consequences for it.

 

[TetraGenesis]

Can't the governor step in? Jesus, this is insane!

 

[Nepenthe]

Got through to the governor's office but have been put on hold. Feel kind of sick even having to do this.

 

[Lubricus]

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The Latest on Missouri's planned execution of inmate Marcellus Williams (all times local):

1:15 p.m.

St. Louis County's prosecutor says there is "zero possibility" that an inmate who is scheduled to die is innocent of the fatal stabbing that put him on death row.

Marcellus Williams is due to be executed at 6 p.m. Tuesday for fatally stabbing former St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter Lisha Gayle during a 1998 robbery at her home in University City, a St. Louis suburb.

Williams' attorneys cite DNA evidence on the murder weapon that matches another unknown man, but not Williams. But St. Louis County prosecutor Bob McCulloch says the DNA tests were simply inconclusive.

McCulloch says there is ample other evidence that Williams committed the crime.

Williams would be the second man executed in Missouri this year.

http://www.stltoday.com/news/national/the-latest-prosecutor-says-no-chance-condemned-is-innocent/article_a89c112a-4f2e-5950-bc56-b3b00e94b959.html

 

[TarNaru33]

As a person for the death penalty, I don't think one murder should be enough for such a sentence. It should be for the most heinous crimes, such as mass murderers or terrorists who killed multiple people.

As for this specific case, I do not believe he should be executed even if he did it, but from what is written in this thread so far I think he did do it. It is the governor's choice now.

 

[DrROBschiz]

How is the DNA evidence inconclusive?


WTF?!?!?

 

[MosquitoSmasher]

I have no words for such a thing. Knowing you are innocent and for the people who could free him knowing he is innocent and still proceeding with it...

No words.

 

[TirMcGrey]

I feel that this story will be revisited when it's shown that he really was innocent, months or years after he's been executed (murdered) by the state.

Its happened too many times before and this story will only be one more body to the pile.

P.S: I was put on hold for approx 30 mins before it was flat out hung up a few times this past week. I'm not even sure how to approach this besides tweeting now.

 

[Nepenthe]

Holy shit, my call went through! Williams got a stay! Execution isn't happening tonight!

Press release

 

[GoldenEye 007]

Holy shit, my call went through! Williams got a stay! Execution isn't happening tonight!

Press release

Well that's great news at least. For now.

 

[GK86]

Holy shit, my call went through! Williams got a stay! Execution isn't happening tonight!

Press release

Hopefully it leads to a pardon.

 

[Christian]

Oh, thank goodness. Shit like this just makes me feel so sick to my stomach.

 

[Randolph Freelander]

Holy shit, my call went through! Williams got a stay! Execution isn't happening tonight!

Press release

Finally

 

[TechnicPuppet]

Well done everyone who called.

 

[Redd]

Thank goodness.

 

[Grym]

Holy shit, my call went through! Williams got a stay! Execution isn't happening tonight!

Press release

wow. fantastic

 

[notsol337]

Looks like the Governor made the right call.

With reasonable doubt, the man shouldn't be executed. The other evidence is pretty bad, though. He may have done this based on a few of his other actions.

 

[LakeEarth]

Great news! Hopefully they still give him his last meal.

 

[ZombiePlatypus]

Cannot believe it got to this point. Why the fuck isn't there a nationwide ban on the death penalty yet?

 

[smisk]

Glad to hear this. Whether or not this actually exonerates him all the evidence deserves to be looked at before someone is put to death.

 

[johnny956]

I called just because I'm against the death penalty but there is enough evidence against him that I would say he still did it

 

[MrSaturn99]

Holy shit, my call went through! Williams got a stay! Execution isn't happening tonight!

Press release

Yes!

 

[Dreams-Visions]

Good news.

 

[johnny956]

Hopefully it leads to a pardon.

Having the victims possessions and the not public details that the cellmate gave to police I don't see how a pardon happens. Reduced to life maybe but I would say death should be off the table

 

[Regulus Tera]

Holy shit, my call went through! Williams got a stay! Execution isn't happening tonight!

Press release

Fucking yes

 

[Glix]

Thank god.

 

[RoadHazard]

The death penalty is shit for so many reasons, and shouldn't exist, but to even consider going through with it in the face of evidence saying he didn't do it?! What the FUCK is wrong with you, America? What an utter shithole of a country you can be. Or perhaps I should say what a shithole of a state Missouri can be, but really, these state-sanctioned murders should be banned nation-wide. Amend the constitution or some shit, and join the rest of the civilized world in the 21st century.

Still, good that it's been put on hold. Good on those who made an effort.

 

[ErasureAcer]

Having the victims possessions and the not public details that the cellmate gave to police I don't see how a pardon happens. Reduced to life maybe but I would say death should be off the table

So somebody can kill someone. Drop off the victim's items where I live and I can spend life in prison? What a fabulous world we live in.

 

[Vicetrailia]

It sounds like he could have done it? But regardless you shouldn't get the death penalty for one murder unless it is something truly heinous.

 

[johnny956]

So somebody can kill someone. Drop off the victim's items where I live and I can spend life in prison? What a fabulous world we live in.

Have a look

After returning to the car, Williams picked up his girlfriend, Laura Asaro. Asaro noticed that, despite the summer heat, Williams was wearing a jacket. When he removed the jacket, Asaro noticed that Williams’ shirt was bloody and that he had scratches on his neck. Williams claimed he had been in a fight. Later in the day, Williams put his bloody clothes in his backpack and threw them into a sewer drain, claiming he no longer wanted them.

Asaro also saw a laptop computer in the car. A day or two after the murder, Williams sold the laptop to Glenn Roberts.

From April until June 1999, Williams shared a room with Henry Cole. One evening in May, Cole and Williams were watching television and saw a news report about Gayle’s murder. Shortly after the news report, Williams told Cole that he had committed the crime. Over the next few weeks, Cole and Williams had several conversations about the murder. As he had done with Laura Asaro, Williams went into considerable detail about how he broke into the house and killed Gayle.

After Cole was released from jail in June 1999, he went to the University City police and told them about Williams’ involvement in Gayle’s murder. He reported details of the crime that had never been publicly reported.

 

[UberTag]

Happy that he at least has a stay but folks need to remain vigilant until he's actually released from death's row.

 

[ghostwritingduck]

It's more expensive to pay for an execution though.

There are no circumstances where the death penalty is acceptable.

What would you suggest if Dr. Mengele or Hitler had been taken into custody? I'm anti death penalty in most cases, but 100% evidence of genocide seems like an acceptable time for execution.

 

[SummitAve]

Have a look

What was his defense to this? It seems pretty damning.

 

[Captain Pants]

Cannot believe it got to this point. Why the fuck isn't there a nationwide ban on the death penalty yet?

ZombiePlatypus is soft on crime. He's wrong on the issue and wrong for America. I'm campaigning on cleaning up our streets so that we can all sleep easy at night knowing our families are safe.

 

[mordecaii83]

Have a look

Hmmmmm that seems pretty damning...

What was his defense to this? It seems pretty damning.

Damnit!

 

[johnny956]

Hmmmmm that seems pretty damning...

The defendant's response

During the guilt phase, Appellant presented evidence from his family
members that they had seen Ms. Asaro in the trunk of the Buick and in possession
of a laptop computer after the date that Appellant was incarcerated in the
workhouse (Tr. 2777, 2805). Appellant also presented the testimony of a
Post-Dispatch employee concerning the details of Lisha's murder that had been
reported in that newspaper (Tr. 2820
-54). During cross-examination, however, this employee testified that several details, which Ms. Asaro and Mr. Cole had
previously reported to the police, had never been reported in the newspaper

Edit: 10 days after he was arranged, he tried to escape from prison.

Appellant struck one of the guards in the head with a metal bar, which ”busted open" the guard's head. The guard fell to the ground while other
inmates picked up a table and tried to break out a window (Tr. 2628-30). Captain Schiller testified that he rushed to the scene after hearing the words ”officer down" and a plea for help (Tr. 2674). He saw Leslie Harrison, the guard
Appellant had struck, bleeding like a ”stuck pig from the top of his head"

 

[Fenderputty]

I don't know if I agree or disagree, but I can tell you that people like Dylan Roof...I'd rather not pay for scum like that to live a full life so I'm generally okay with my taxes funding his needle. I will call for this guy though.

It's all or nothing unfortunately. Two arguments:

1. Vengeance is wrong even for the grieving.
2. The system is imperfect and so innocents are put to death

I personally believe in argument #2. Mostly because, like you, there's nothing that would prevent me from killing someone like Dylan Roof in a perfect scenario. However ... argument two realizes we have an imperfect scenario. You don't get to pick and choose here. We fix the system so that we can allow vengeance kills (lets be real this is what they are) or we can just stop killing people entirely because we know we have an imperfect system. Unfortunately the Dylan Roofs make it out if you're consistent with the application.

 

[tonysidaway]

ZombiePlatypus is soft on crime. He's wrong on the issue and wrong for America. I'm campaigning on cleaning up our streets so that we can all sleep easy at night knowing our families are safe.

In my country we haven't had the death penalty for half a century. Yet our homicide rates are very low compared to those few remaining civilised countries, like the United States, that still execute people.

Our families are safe.

Is this another example of American exceptionalism? As in "everybody else can see the writing on the wall, but America will continue to kill people regardless."

 

[Captain Pants]

In my country we haven't had the death penalty for half a century. Yet our homicide rates are very low compared to those few remaining civilised countries, like the United States, that still execute people.

Our families are safe.

Is this another example of American exceptionalism? As in "everybody else can see the writing on the wall, but America will continue to kill people regardless."

I hope my post came across as satire. I'm explaining why it is hard to campaign on getting rid of the death penalty and why there isn't a bigger push for it. I'm completely against the death penalty.

 

[poppedcollar69]

oh whew, at first i read the title edit as 'slayed'