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[Joe]

Here's what you can do now: Call Gov. @EricGreitens at (573) 751-3222. Ask him to stop the execution scheduled for August 22.

Please be kind and courteous when contacting elected officials about a pending execution. A fellow human being's life is on the line.

Learn more about this case here: https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/node/6843

---

https://twitter.com/helenprejean/status/897914814953074688

• DNA says Marcellus Williams didn't kill Felicia Gayle, but the Missouri Supreme Court wants to let his execution go ahead anyway.
  
• Felicia Gayle was murdered in 1998. Marcellus Williams was convicted of the crime and sentenced to death in 2001.
  
• After a series of appeals, an execution date was set for January 28, 2015. Marcellus sought a stay of execution to allow for DNA testing.
  
• A stay was granted and a judge was appointed to oversee the DNA testing process. The results were clear: Marcellus didn't kill Felicia.
  
• Two DNA experts testified that DNA from the murder weapon excluded Marcellus as a suspect. The DNA belonged to a third person.
  
• This evidence was recently presented to the Missouri Supreme Court. Within one day, the court ruled to allow the execution anyway.
  
• Some lawyers say that they wait outside the courthouse for a few minutes after filing appeals. Judges can reject the appeals sight unseen.
  
• "Keep the car running." To an outside observer, it looks like that's exactly what happened here.
  
• It gets worse if you can believe that. None of the physical evidence (fingernail scrapings, hair, footprints) actually matched Marcellus
  
• How did the prosecutors get a conviction? They had a jailhouse snitch and a crack-addicted prostitute testify against Marcellus.
  
• What's really going on here? Consider this: the murder occurred in a gated community. The victim was white and Marcellus is black.
  
• The prosecutors struck 6 of the 7 black potential jurors. They also did not tell defense attorneys about the backgrounds of the witnesses.
  
• The MO Supreme Court was presented with all of this information and still ruled to allow the execution, taking less than a day to decide.
  
• Adding insult to injury, the Missouri Supreme Court didn't even issue a written explanation for the hasty decision.
  
• Here's what you can do now: Call Gov. @EricGreitens at (573) 751-3222. Ask him to stop the execution scheduled for August 22.
  
• Learn more about this case here: https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/node/6843

Missouri Court Denies Condemned Prisoner Stay of Execution, Review of Case Despite Exonerating DNA Evidence

After having previously granted Marcellus Williams a stay of execution in 2015 to permit DNA testing in his case, the Missouri Supreme Court on August 15 summarily denied him a new execution stay, despite recently obtained results of that testing that support his innocence claim.

Williams—who was convicted and sentenced to death in 2001 by a nearly all-white St. Louis County jury in the highly publicized stabbing death of a former St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter—presented scientific evidence that excluded him as a contributor to DNA on the knife used to kill Felicia Gayle.

One expert concluded that Williams "could not have contributed to the detected [DNA] profile" and the other found "a clear exclusion of Marcellus Williams from the knife handle."

The petition alleged that the "physical evidence collected from the crime scene"—which included fingernail scrapings from the victim, who had been stabbed more than 40 times—”did not match and could not be linked to" Williams.

Williams was convicted and sentenced to death based on the testimony of a jailhouse informant and a prostitute who was an admitted crack addict.

Williams had also previously raised a claim alleging that St. Louis County prosecutors had a pattern and practice of striking black prospective jurors, including 6 of the 7 African Americans it had the opportunity to empanel in his case.

A Missouri Supreme Court justice noted in another St. Louis County capital case "a fairly repetitive pattern" in which St. Louis County "has a substantial African-American community" yet there are "still all white juries and that's not mathematically probable."

 

[Keasar]

WHAT.

THE.

FUCK!?

Edit:
I just triple read that list to be sure I got it right. There are many points in just that list where evidence says "He didn't kill her" and they are still gonna execute the man. For fuck sake, they could have the actual culprit confessing to the crime, with a video evidence, fingerprint, DNA analysis and a fucking instagram selfie of the person with the body of the victim all confirming it was him and they would STILL want to execute the man....
FUCKING WHAT!?

 

[PixelatedBookake]

Why I hate the death penalty

 

[Yoshimitsu126]

How to kill a mockingbird

 

[Linkura]

Sounds about right. This fucking country. Can't let a black man get off death row, can we?

 

[fauxtrot]

America.

 

[SeanC]

Can we please get rid of the goddamn death penalty? This is abhorrent.

 

[1044]

Sounds like they're covering for someone.

 

[FZZ]

More than half this country is entirely worthless honestly

this is fucking disgusting

 

[maabus1999]

Time to appeal to a federal court

 

[entremet]

That governor sucks.

 

[waveuponwave]

Fuck the death penalty

And the judges that decided this

 

[sturgboski]

Ha ha, fuck the DA, cops and the judicial system. Innocent until proven guilty, unless you are black and the victim is white then regardless always guilty.

 

[BlueTsunami]

Sifting through all that, curious as to the reason given and wow, not even an explanation from the judges. That's being murdered by the state at that point.

 

[CrunchyB]

Shit like this would have impressed Franz Kafka. Insanity.

 

[Thaedolus]

I read a story once a day where my country makes me think "Jesus FUCKING Christ."

 

[Fenderputty]

Why I hate the death penalty

I agree with the revenge argument, but not anywhere near as much as I agree that our law system is imperfect. Hopefully the state doesn't execute an innocent man.

 

[Mark L]

I'm a Missouri resident, I just called and left a message respectfully laying out the facts and pleading for a stay of execution. Will try to call again tomorrow.

 

[Darknight]

That privilege that you can accuse someone and the other person, if POC, is fucked. (even if not guilty as seen here)

 

[MattyG]

How the FUCK is this allowed. This is terrifying.

 

[Prompto]

What. The. Fuck

How?

 

[Enter The 36 Chambers]

Yo fuck the United States.

Disgrace of a country.

 

[Occam]

That's why all civilized countries have abolished the death penalty.

 

[panty]

No words

 

[DontBeThatGuy]

Death Penalty not being abolished is a disgrace.

 

[Funyarinpa]

Just what the fuck happened with the USA

 

[SpaceCadetKeon]

The "pro-life" party, everyone.

 

[Lightning_Roller]

Fuck. Missouri.

 

[Enter The 36 Chambers]

The "pro-white-life" party, everyone.

Fixed

 

[inner-G]

I called. I know it sadly won't do anything, but I called.

 

[RS4-]

Fuck America.
Fuck the system.
Fuck cops.
Fuck Trump and his supporters.

 

[Yoshimitsu126]

Sounds like they're covering for someone.

Sounds like it. Gated community too according to tweet and forcibly turned down black jurors.

 

[HomerSimpson-Man]

I just...er... JFC, what the hell?!

 

[Maxrunner]

Isn't this essentially murder?

 

[Verelios]

Disgusting. Calling right now, holy shit.

 

[Mark L]

I called. I know it sadly won't do anything, but I called.

It truly might. We need to keep trying.

 

[Hazanko]

Isn't this essentially murder?

Of course it is.

 

[Confused101]

The fuck you say???

"We have concrete evidence he didn't do it, your honor."

"Well, I don't feel like fucking up the current schedule so we're just going to proceed as planned."

WHAT!?

 

[Waldo Lydecker]

Can't we do something more substantial to save him?

 

[NCSOFT]

Abolish the death penalty!

 

[Garlador]

Can't we do something more substantial to save him?

Calling is a start. Turn up the heat.

Everyone in this thread better call.

 

[robochimp]

Hopefully the US Supreme Court steps in.

 

[NCSOFT]

Isn't this essentially murder?

Stated sanctioned first degree murder, but then again, death penalty always is.

 

[hiphoptherobot]

That governor sucks.

Oh my God, he is the worst. Everything he does is terrible. The first thing he did was cut the education budget by 146 million and then as a followup cut the funding for the group that oversaw puppy mills in Missouri. He is a monster. I called but I really have no faith in this asshole doing the right thing.
https://youtu.be/Yf2Gai1uQYM

 

[Mr_Antimatter]

How in the world do they legally justify this? The evidence cleared him, but lol kill him anyways?

 

[Gordon Shumway]

Yeah..that's a shocker..

 

[Ryzaki009]

I don't even know what to say.

This is just monstrous.

 

[Malyse]

"Individuals traveling in the state are advised to travel with extreme CAUTION," the advisory says. "Race, gender and color based crimes have a long history in Missouri."

http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/06/us/missouri-naacp-travel-advisory/index.html

 

[frontovik]

Where are the defenders claiming the US is a first world country?

 

[sarcastor]

Fuck. Missouri.

The "pro-life" party, everyone.

Just what the fuck happened with the USA

Death Penalty not being abolished is a disgrace.

No words

Yo fuck the United States. Disgrace of a country.

What. The. Fuck How?

How the FUCK is this allowed. This is terrifying.

That privilege that you can accuse someone and the other person, if POC, is fucked. (even if not guilty as seen here)

i think everyone should take their passion and fury and contact the governor and leave a nice message stating that this is 100% murder of an innocent man. every day until the exeuction. cause i will. this is fucked up.