Missouri executes man for 1998 killing of social worker amid calls for re-sentencing

A Missouri man on death row was executed Tuesday for the brutal 1998 killing of a woman inside her home, marking the beginning of a series of executions in several states over the next couple of days. 

In Missouri, Marcellus Williams, 55, died by lethal injection, shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court denied his request to intervene. Williams was put to death for the 1998 killing of Lisha Gayle, a social worker and former newspaper reporter who was stabbed more than 40 times during a burglary at her home in St. Louis.

His attorney argued that the state supreme court should halt his execution over alleged procedural errors in jury selection and the prosecution's alleged mishandling of the murder weapon. 

St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell had sought to set aside Williams' sentence, citing questions about his guilt. 

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Gayle, 42, was a social worker and former St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter. Prosecutors at Williams’ trial said he broke into her home on Aug. 11, 1998, heard the shower running and found a large butcher knife. 

Gayle was stabbed 43 times when she came downstairs. Her purse and her husband’s laptop were stolen.

Last month, Gayle’s relatives gave their blessing to an agreement between the St. Louis County prosecuting attorney’s office and Williams’ attorneys to commute the sentence to life in prison. But acting on an appeal from Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s Office, the state Supreme Court nullified the agreement.

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Republican Gov. Mike Parson and the state supreme court each refused requests on Monday from Williams in an effort to avoid his execution.

In Texas, Travis Mullis was slated to be executed Tuesday for the killing of his 3-month-old son. Mullis, 38, was condemned to death for stomping his son Alijah to death in January 2008. 

Prosecutors said Mullis, then 21, drove to nearby Galveston with his son after fighting with his girlfriend. Mullis parked his car and sexually assaulted his son. After the infant began to cry uncontrollably, Mullis began strangling his son before taking him out of the car and stomping on his head, according to authorities.

The child's body was found on the side of the road. Mullis fled Texas but surrendered to authorities in Philadelphia. One of his attorney's, Shawn Nolan, said he didn't plan to file any further appeals prior to the execution. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.