The St. Louis County chapter and Missouri conference of the NAACP are condemning St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch for his handling of the Marcellus Williams case, calling on prosecutors to more fairly apply justice across racial lines.
Nimrod Chapel Jr., head of the Missouri State Conference of the NAACP, and Kenny Murdoch, head of the St. Louis County chapter, held a press conference on Monday, August 28 at the St. Louis County courthouse in Clayton protesting what they see as an overstep by the prosecutor.
Williams was set to be executed for the 1998 murder of Felicia Gayle. Hours before the scheduled execution, Missouri Governor Eric Greitens issued a stay on the basis of new evidence in the case, showing that Williams’ DNA was not present on the murder weapon while another individual’s was. The case will now be reviewed by a five-member board appointed by the governor.
McCulloch, who did not prosecute the case, issued a statement affirming his confidence in the court rulings.
“I am confident that any board and the governor, after a full review of all evidence and information, will reach the same conclusion reached by the jury and the various courts,” McCulloch’s statement read.
He also told the Associated Press he sees “zero evidence” that Williams is not guilty.
Chapel said the statement is part of a pattern for the state of Missouri.
“It’s not all prosecutors, but there are those who we believe are not living up to their ethical obligations to seek justice,” Chapel said. “They’re merely looking for a conviction. We should make sure that the people who are paying the ultimate penalty are actually guilty before we ask them to pay that penalty.”
Murdoch praised Greitens for taking the step of staying Williams’ execution.
“We applaud that, but then to be betrayed by a prosecutor, that brings fear back into the community,” Murdoch said. “We’re trying not only to ease racial tensions, we’re trying to give hope that this community can stay together.”
McCulloch was the prosecutor in the case of Darren Wilson, the Ferguson Police officer who killed Michael Brown Jr. He drew controversy for leaving the decision to prosecute Wilson to a grand jury, rather than bringing the charges himself, and for his handling of the grand jury. The national leadership of the NAACP called for McCulloch to be replaced, but he was not and Wilson was not indicted.
Chapel said he does not know if McCulloch’s stance on the case is based in racism, but it is part of a pattern of unfair treatment. Most black jurors were excluded from the pool in Williams’ trial, resulting in a jury with only one black members. Williams is black, while the victim, Gayle, was white.
“It sure brings up the specter of injustice and inequality in our criminal justice system, and that’s something we can’t afford,” Chapel said.
The case has been referred to a five-member of inquiry with members chosen by Greitens. This power is created by a rarely used statute allowing the governor to step in when he or she feels the courts have decided wrongly in a criminal case.
Michael Wolff, a former Missouri Supreme Court chief justice who also served in the administration of Governor Mel Carnahan, said the statute contains no guidance or requirements for who should sit on the board or what they should consider. In a previous case Wolff dealt with, the members were retired judges.
The membership and proceedings of the board are also confidential, with no requirement for the board or the governor to release any information.
“What [witnesses] get in exchange is a guarantee that the information is in confidence,” Wolff said.
Wolff does not see the governor’s’ actions as an inappropriate check on the court’s power, but as a counterbalance that is applied appropriately in this case.
“I think serious doubt is enough to make the governor say, ‘Wait a minute, we’re not executing someone about whom there’s serious doubt,’” Wolff said.
In Williams’ case, DNA evidence has thrown doubt on the initial verdict, but Wolff said the other evidence may also be less incriminating than it seems. A main witness for the prosecution was a former cellmate of Williams’ who said he confessed the crime to him. Wolff said imprisoned witnesses are some of the most unreliable, as many of them are testifying in hopes of having their own sentences reduced.
“Jailhouse snitches are notoriously unreliable,” Wolff said.
Jessica Karins is a St. Louis American editorial intern from Webster University.
