BREAKING NEWSMarcellus Williams son reveals heartbreaking final demand ahead of fathers execution

Death row inmate Marcellus Williams son has revealed his heartbreaking final demand for the United States Supreme Court ahead of his fathers execution in Missouri Tuesday night.

In an interview with KSDK News, Marcellus Williams Jr. said he is praying for a miracle to halt his 55-year-old fathers scheduled execution for the 1998 murder of Felicia Lisha Gayle, a newspaper reporter who was found stabbed to death in her home.

I hope Allah wishes to free my father from his enslavement and spare his life, Williams Jr. said.

He added that he wants the US Supreme Court to see this is a murder on their behalf, and this is wrong. 

I believe my father is truly innocent and they need to take a closer look. 

Marcellus Williams, 55, is scheduled to be executed in Missouri Tuesday night

Prosecutors at Williams original trial in 2001 have said that Williams broke into Gayles home on August 11, 1998, heard water running in the shower and grabbed a butcher knife.

When she came downstairs, Gayle was stabbed 43 times and her purse and her husbands laptop were stolen.

Authorities said Williams then stole a jacket to conceal blood on his shirt, prompting his girlfriend at the time to ask him why he would wear a jacket on a hot day.

That girlfriend later reported that she saw the stolen laptop in Williams car and he sold it to a neighbor a day or two later.

Prosecutors also cited testimony from Henry Cole, wo shared a jail cell with Williams in 1999 when Williams was in prison on unrelated charges.

Cole told prosecutors Williams confessed to the killing and offered details about it.

But defense attorneys countered by saying both Williams girlfriend and Cole were convicted of felonies and wanted a $10,000 reward for information about Gayles death.

Felicia Lisha Gayle, a newspaper reporter who was found stabbed to death in her home on August 11, 1998

Questions have since emerged about the integrity of that trial - which lead to Williams conviction.

His attorneys have noted that a black juror was excluded from the jury pool, which comprised 11 white people and one black juror - prompting an investigation into the case under former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens, who halted Williams execution indefinitely.

He formed a board of former judges to review the case and to determine whether Williams should be granted clemency. 

The board investigated Williams case for the next six years, but it was abruptly shut down under current Gov. Michael Parson.

Williams attorneys are now arguing to the US Supreme Court that by terminating the investigation, Parson trampled upon Williams right to due process. 

The Governors actions have violated Williams constitutional rights and created an exceptionally urgent need for the Courts attention, the lawyers argued in a petition to stay the execution.

They went on to note that even the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorneys Office announced earlier this year that there were constitutional errors in Williams original trial - including the removal of one prospective black juror due to race.

We have asked the US Supreme Court to stay Marcellus Williams execution on Tuesday based on a revelation by the trial prosecutor that he removed at least one Black juror before trial based on his race, said Tricia Rojo Bushnell, an attorney for Mr. Williams. 

We were astonished to learn that part of the reason for striking a juror was because the juror was a young Black man with glasses, so that he and Mr. Williams looked like they were brothers. 

Under our Constitution, there is a right to a fair trial before a jury of our peers, she noted. The prosecutor removed this juror because he looked like Mr. Williams peer. 

St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell has confessed constitutional error due to this racial bias during jury selection. We hope the Supreme Court will stay Mr. Williams execution based on this new evidence of racial bias and the other serious doubts about the integrity of Mr. Williams conviction.