Supreme Court allows execution of Marcellus Williams, denying bid for delay

Washington — The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a bid to stop the execution of Missouri death row inmate Marcellus Williams, who was convicted in the 1998 stabbing death of Felicia Gayle in a St. Louis suburb.

Williams, who has maintained his innocence, is set to be put to death by lethal injection at 6 p.m. CT. 

Earlier efforts to halt the execution were denied Monday by the Missouri Supreme Court and Republican Gov. Mike Parson. His execution is the third in Missouri this year, and among five taking place nationwide across a seven-day span if the remaining three are carried out on schedule, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.