A hearing has been scheduled for Marcellus Williams ahead of his September 24 execution date, while Texas has set Robert Roberson’s executio
The cases of two men with scheduled execution dates in the United States have focused attention on the reality that some death row inmates are being sentenced to die and executed despite acknowledgement by prosecutors, courts and politicians that scientific evidence proves they could not have committed the crimes for which they stand accused. Missouri has set a September 24 execution date for Marcellus Williams despite DNA evidence from the crime scene that convincingly demonstrates that he did not commit the murder. In Texas, Robert Roberson is scheduled to be executed October 17 based largely on the testimony of an expert witness who cited a scientific theory on the victim’s death that has subsequently been debunked. St. Louis County Circuit Court schedules August 21 hearing for Marcellus Williams The WSWS has written on the case of Marcellus “Khaliifah” Williams, 55, who was convicted and sentenced to death for the August 1998 murder of Felicia Ann Gayle, a former St. Louis reporter who was found stabbed to death in her home in 1998. Williams has consistently maintained his innocence. He has spent more than two decades on death row. In January, St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell filed a motion to vacate Williams’ conviction because newly presented DNA evidence “when paired with the relative paucity of other, credible evidence supporting guilt … casts inexorable doubt on Mr. Williams’ conviction and sentence.” None of the forensic evidence at the crime scene, including fingerprints, footprints, hair and trace DNA on the murder weapon, has been tied to Williams. […] Texas sets October 17 execution date for Robert Roberson III On July 1, the Third Judicial District Court in Anderson County, Texas set an October 17 execution date for Robert Roberson III. If executed, Roberson would be the first person in the US executed based on now discredited scientific criteria for determining “shaken baby syndrome” (SBS). The court scheduled the execution without granting Roberson’s previously filed request for a hearing. The case concerns the January 2002 death of 2-year-old Nikki Curtis. Everything about the conviction of Nikki’s father, Roberson, for his daughter’s tragic death exposes how the death penalty is meted out against society’s most vulnerable. It demonstrates as well the willingness of authorities to dispense with science and railroad innocent individuals to execution, even when new evidence emerges and expert witnesses and some of those involved in a defendant’s arrest and prosecution demand it be halted.
read complete article
