ST.
LOUIS — A judge declined Thursday to vacate the conviction and death sentence of Marcellus Williams, a Missouri man scheduled for execution later this month in the stabbing death of a woman in 1998, despite questions about DNA evidence on the knife used in the attack.
Representatives of the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney's Office and the Missouri Attorney General's Office did not respond to messages seeking comment. But just before the Aug. 21 hearing, a new DNA report revealed that the DNA evidence was contaminated because officials in the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney's Office touched the knife without gloves before the original trial in 2001.
An attorney for Williams, Jonathan Potts, said during the hearing that the mishandling of the murder weapon was devastating for Williams because it “destroyed his last and best chance” to prove his innocence.“In light of this report, cannot demonstrate that the genetic material on the knife handle can form a basis for a ‘clear and convincing showing’ of Williams’ innocence,” Hilton wrote.“They refer to the evidence in this case as being weak. It was overwhelming,” Spillane said at the hearing.
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