The Missouri Supreme Court is moving forward with execution plans for Marcellus Williams, even as a prosecutor tries to overturn his murder conviction.
It’s bureaucracy. The hearing is well before the scheduled execution, and it sounds likely that the hearing will vacate the conviction, from what I read. The court is just saying that there’s an established process for this and the lawyers just need to follow that process.
ETA: Not to say that our legal system isn’t horribly broken, because it is. Just saying that my interpretation of this case is that Marcellus is just a few dotted i’s and crossed t’s away from being a free man.
It’s bureaucracy. The hearing is well before the scheduled execution, and it sounds likely that the hearing will vacate the conviction, from what I read. The court is just saying that there’s an established process for this and the lawyers just need to follow that process.
ETA: Not to say that our legal system isn’t horribly broken, because it is. Just saying that my interpretation of this case is that Marcellus is just a few dotted i’s and crossed t’s away from being a free man.
Assuming he is not guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, each additional day on death row is an affront to justice.
The courts need to speed up the process, which is what the prosecutor is basically asking for by not wanting to wait.