LogFAQs > #982263414

I think the Innocence Project is a little misleading on their statement of

DNA evidence proves Marcellus Williams is innocent.
Marcellus Williams is scheduled to be executed on Sept. 24 for a crime DNA proves he did not commit.

CNN reports that

The St. Louis Prosecuting Attorneys Office, which handled the trial against Williams, argued in the motion that DNA testing of the knife used in the killing might suggest Williams was not Gayles killer.
But that effort unraveled at a circuit court hearing last month, after new DNA testing revealed the murder weapon had been mishandled prior to the 2001 trial contaminating the evidence meant to exonerate Williams and complicating his quest to prove his innocence.

Attorneys received a report indicating the DNA on the murder weapon belonged to an assistant prosecuting attorney and an investigator who had handled the murder weapon without gloves prior to trial, the states judicial branch said.
But the Missouri Attorney Generals Office said the new DNA findings released last month dont exonerate Williams.
In this case, a new round of DNA testing proved the office was right all along; the knife in question has been handled by many actors, including law enforcement, since being found, Attorney General Andrew Bailey said.
In addition, one of the defenses own experts previously testified he could not rule out the possibility that Williamss DNA was also on the knife. He could only testify to the fact that enough actors had handled the knife throughout the legal process that others DNA was present.
Other evidence that helped convict Williams remains intact, the attorney general said.
The victims personal items were found in Williamss car after the murder. A witness testified that Williams had sold the victims laptop to him. Williams confessed to his girlfriend and an inmate in the St. Louis City Jail, and Williams girlfriend saw him dispose of the bloody clothes worn during the murder, the attorney generals office said.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/24/us/marcellus-williams-scheduled-execution-date/index.html

I'm not saying he's guilty or innocent.... But that headline is kinda misleading...