Execution date set for Missouri inmate, even as he awaits hearing on claim of actual innocence

By JIM SALTER
Associated Press

The Missouri Supreme Court has set a Sept. 24 execution date for Marcellus Williams, even as the inmate awaits a court hearing on his innocence claim. The order on Tuesday came hours after it ruled that Gov. Mike Parson was within his rights last year when he dissolved a board of inquiry convened six years earlier by Parson’s predecessor. The board never reached any conclusion. Williams, convicted in a 1998 killing, was hours away from execution in 2017 when then-Gov. Eric Greitens ordered an investigation, citing new DNA evidence. Separately, St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell filed a motion in January to vacate the conviction, also citing the DNA evidence. A hearing date has not been set.