A large number of individuals challenged Williams’ death sentence because he maintained his innocence in the 1998 fatal stabbing of Felicia Gayle in a St. Louis suburb. Williams had two prior executions postponed.
Williams’s lawyer claimed that the DNA evidence in the case was handled improperly and that there had been racial discrimination in the jury selection process.
Following the denial of his clemency appeals by the governor and the highest court in Missouri earlier this week, Williams was not granted a last-minute reprieve by the US Supreme Court.
