ST. LOUIS, Missouri (First Alert 4) – On Sunday evening, Marcellus Williams faced what may have been the last 48 hours of his life, a crucial time as legal proceedings to save his life are currently underway in the Missouri Supreme Court and the United States.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson is also considering a request for clemency.

Williams is scheduled to be executed at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Bonne Terre, Missouri, for the 1998 murder of Felicia Gayle.

He has consistently maintained that he is not guilty of the crime, but his appeals in state and federal courts have all been unsuccessful.

In recent days, there have been numerous court filings and lawsuits to save Williams from execution.

Supreme Court of Missouri

Arguments were filed Saturday and Sunday before the Missouri Supreme Court in a case appealing St. Louis District Judge Bruce Hilton’s denial of a motion to overturn Williams’ 1998 murder conviction.

St. Louis County District Attorney Wesley Bell is asking the state Supreme Court to grant a motion to overturn a first-degree murder conviction that the district court denied.

Alternatively, he and Williams are requesting that the case be returned to district court for further hearings.

They argue that they were not given enough time during the district court hearing in August to present evidence, which they said was extensive due to the nature of the case.

Bell, Williams and their lawyers each had two hours to present thousands of pages of documents and numerous pieces of evidence, according to court records.

Williams and Bell also argue that Hilton erred in failing to find a constitutional violation when a black juror was excluded from the original trial because of his race.

The jury at the trial consisted of eleven white jurors and one black juror.

Bell and Williams also argue that Hilton erred in ruling that there was no constitutional violation because a prosecutor in the original trial improperly handled evidence, such as the knife used to kill Gayle.

Years later, unknown DNA was found on the knife, which was later attributed to an assistant district attorney.

Williams’ DNA was never found on the gun.

Authorities investigating the case said the reason was the wearing of gloves.

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, who opposed Bell’s efforts to overturn Williams’ conviction, filed written responses to the state Supreme Court’s decision on Sunday.

Bailey argues that Bell and Williams, as well as his attorney, had ample time to call witnesses and present evidence during the eviction hearing.

They did not raise any objections to the procedure during the hearing, Bailey said in her response.

Bailey also argues that the argument of racial bias in jury selection is without merit and that the Missouri Supreme Court had already rejected that argument when it upheld Williams’ conviction in 2003.

In response to the allegations of improper evidence, Bailey argues that the knife was touched by the assistant district attorney during the trial after it had been examined in the crime lab.

He argues that there were no “bad faith” attempts to conceal evidence and that Hilton was correct in his decision that no constitutional violations occurred.

Oral arguments are scheduled for Monday at 9:00 a.m. The hearings will be streamed live here on the court’s website.

Supreme Court of the United States

Williams’ lawyers have also filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court to argue whether his rights have been violated.

The arguments are based on the dissolution of an investigative committee by current Governor Parson, which had been appointed by then-Governor Eric Greitens to re-examine the case.

Greitens had formed the panel after unknown DNA was discovered on the murder weapon, which had recently been linked to the deputy district attorney.

The lawsuit argues in court that Parson’s dissolution of the panel violated Williams’ due process rights.

Although the Missouri Supreme Court rejected that request in June, Williams’ lawyers say a U.S. Supreme Court decision in a 1998 Ohio case set a precedent that inmates do have some right to a fair trial in clemency decisions.

Bailey opposes these demands on the grounds that the right to grant clemency is at the discretion of the state and that the federal court has no authority.

Williams’ lawyers are also asking the Supreme Court to grant a stay given the conflicts in the lower courts, the possibility of the judgment being overturned and the finality of the execution.

Petition for clemency

Governor Parson could commute Williams’ death sentence to life imprisonment. Numerous civic organizations and residents are calling on him to do so.

This decision would also be in line with the wishes of the victim’s family, who have stated that they do not want Williams to be executed.

Congresswoman Cori Bush urged Parson to grant a reprieve in the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday and sent the governor a letter urging him to grant clemency.

NAACP President Derrick Johnson and the Missouri chapter of the NAACP called on Parson to grant clemency.

Activists are expected to gather in Jefferson City on Monday for the court hearing to demand a halt to Williams’ execution.

Parson said he would announce a decision before the execution.

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