[1] Gayle, a 42-year-old reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, was found dead in her home, having been stabbed up to 43 times with a butcher's knife taken from her kitchen.
On appeal, he raised several issues, including claims of errors in evidentiary rulings, jury instructions, and victim impact testimony.
The death sentence was controversial, as DNA evidence had been claimed to prove his innocence, and Gayle's family repeatedly stated they did not want Williams executed.
She left the newspaper to pursue more philanthropy and volunteer work, which included mentoring and tutoring disadvantaged children.
[14] Growing up in a troubled and impoverished household, Williams faced early exposure to alcohol, drugs, and guns, and was subjected to violent sexual and physical abuse from family members.
[17] Police arrived to the scene at around 8 p.m., officers found Gayle in a fetal position with her left side covered in blood.
Unlike Cole's deposition, which was compatible with news reports, she is said to have provided details that had not been mentioned in the public accounts of the crime.
[34] In June 2023, Parson decided to dissolve the panel of five judges without receiving their report and lifted the stay on Williams' execution as he claimed it was time for the court to make a decision.
[39] Rather, it belonged to an investigator and assistant prosecuting attorney who had handled the murder weapon without wearing gloves, after it had been forensically tested.
[42] On July 2, the Circuit Court of St. Louis County, Missouri, scheduled a hearing for August 21, 2024, to evaluate the supposed evidence of Williams' innocence.
[43] On July 12, 2024, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that his execution would move forward despite the pending lawsuit to overturn his conviction.
In the court's opinion overruling the motion, Justice Zel Fischer ruled that "they do not have the procedural authority to withdraw the execution order at this time.
"[41] On August 21, 2024, Williams accepted a plea bargain offered by the prosecution to commute his death sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
[26][24][25] The prosecutors argued in favor of Williams during the hearing, pointing out that the DNA on the murder weapon was not his and that they had duly considered this fact before offering him an Alford plea to vacate his death sentence.
However, the state attorney general Andrew Bailey opposed this decision and wanted the execution to move forward as scheduled.
[44] The Missouri Supreme Court blocked the plea deal agreement[26] on the same day, and Williams' execution date remained September 24, 2024.
[45] On September 12, 2024, St. Louis County Circuit Judge Bruce Hilton rejected Williams' appeal, stating that the counsel was rehashing their arguments from previous appeals, all of which had been rejected multiple times by the state and federal courts, and ordered that the execution should move forward as scheduled.
[46] On September 24, 2024, Parson denied Williams clemency and the case was reviewed by the United States Supreme Court hours before the scheduled execution.
[47] Despite pleas from the public,[7] on September 24, 2024, 55-year-old Williams was executed by lethal injection at 6 p.m. at Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Bonne Terre, Missouri.
[49] Williams had converted to Islam in prison, taking the name Khalifah and becoming an imam leading prayer in his cell block.