Missouri

Marcellus Williams executed in Missouri despite conviction doubts

Published

1 year ago

September 24, 2024

Marcellus Williams executed in Missouri despite conviction doubts

The 55-year-old was convicted in 2003 over the killing of Lisha Gayle in what appeared to be a burglary gone wrong.

Marcellus Williams, who was convicted of murder 21 years ago, has been executed in the midwestern state of Missouri despite concerns raised over the integrity of the case.

The United States Supreme Court, the last body that could have overturned Williams’s death sentence, declined to intervene in the case on Tuesday.

The 55-year-old was executed by lethal injection shortly after 6pm (23:00 GMT) at a prison in Bonne Terre, according to The Innocence Project, whose lawyer worked with Williams. His death came a day after both Missouri Governor Mike Parson and the state’s highest court also rejected his last-ditch appeals to avoid execution.

Williams was found guilty in the 1998 killing of Lisha Gayle, a 42-year-old former newspaper reporter who was stabbed 43 times during what appeared to be a burglary gone wrong. He had maintained he was innocent.

Wesley Bell, whose office handled the original prosecution, had sought to block the execution due to concerns about the original trial.

“Even for those who disagree on the death penalty, when there is a shadow of a doubt of any defendant’s guilt, the irreversible punishment of execution should not be an option,” Bell said in a statement before the execution.

In court papers, Bell questioned the reliability of the two main trial witnesses, concluded that prosecutors improperly excluded Black jurors on the basis of race and noted that new testing found no trace of Williams’s DNA on the murder weapon. Williams was African American.

Subsequent tests also revealed that there was DNA on the knife from a prosecutor and an investigator who worked on the case and handled the weapon without gloves.

The contamination of the knife led prosecutors and Williams’s lawyers to an agreement in August to commute the sentence to life in prison.

Gayle’s family also backed the deal, but Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey objected and the state Supreme Court blocked it at his request. A state judge upheld Williams’s murder conviction earlier this month, finding that the lack of evidence on the knife was not enough to establish his innocence.

The Missouri Supreme Court affirmed that decision on Monday.

Governor Parson, a Republican, also turned down Williams’s request for clemency the same day.

“No jury nor court, including at the trial, appellate, and Supreme Court levels, have ever found merit in Mr. Williams’ innocence claims,” he said in a statement. “At the end of the day, his guilty verdict and sentence of capital punishment were upheld.”

Williams was among death row inmates in five states who were scheduled to be executed in the span of a week – an unusually high number amid a years-long decline in the use and support of the death penalty in the United States.

The first was carried out on Friday in South Carolina. Texas was also slated to execute a prisoner on Tuesday evening. Travis Mullis, 38, was convicted of stamping his three-month-old son, Alijah Mullis, to death in 2008.

The death penalty has been abolished in 23 US states, while six others – Arizona, California, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Tennessee – have moratoriums in place.

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Missouri

Missouri Lottery Powerball, Pick 3 winning numbers for Jan. 10, 2026

Published

10 hours ago

January 11, 2026

Press Room

The Missouri Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Jan. 10, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from Jan. 10 drawing

05-19-21-28-64, Powerball: 14, Power Play: 3

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 3 numbers from Jan. 10 drawing

Midday: 5-6-1

Midday Wild: 9

Evening: 1-7-3

Evening Wild: 8

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 4 numbers from Jan. 10 drawing

Midday: 9-3-8-0

Midday Wild: 9

Evening: 0-9-0-1

Evening Wild: 6

Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Cash4Life numbers from Jan. 10 drawing

01-09-28-35-54, Cash Ball: 03

Check Cash4Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Cash Pop numbers from Jan. 10 drawing

Early Bird: 04

Morning: 11

Matinee: 06

Prime Time: 03

Night Owl: 07

Check Cash Pop payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Show Me Cash numbers from Jan. 10 drawing

08-18-25-28-30

Check Show Me Cash payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from Jan. 10 drawing

10-19-39-47-67, Powerball: 18

Check Powerball Double Play payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize

All Missouri Lottery retailers can redeem prizes up to $600. For prizes over $600, winners have the option to submit their claim by mail or in person at one of Missouri Lottery’s regional offices, by appointment only.

To claim by mail, complete a Missouri Lottery winner claim form, sign your winning ticket, and include a copy of your government-issued photo ID along with a completed IRS Form W-9. Ensure your name, address, telephone number and signature are on the back of your ticket. Claims should be mailed to:

Ticket Redemption

Missouri Lottery

P.O. Box 7777

Jefferson City, MO 65102-7777

For in-person claims, visit the Missouri Lottery Headquarters in Jefferson City or one of the regional offices in Kansas City, Springfield or St. Louis. Be sure to call ahead to verify hours and check if an appointment is required.

For additional instructions or to download the claim form, visit the Missouri Lottery prize claim page.

When are the Missouri Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 9:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 10 p.m. Tuesday and Friday.
Pick 3: 12:45 p.m. (Midday) and 8:59 p.m. (Evening) daily.
Pick 4: 12:45 p.m. (Midday) and 8:59 p.m. (Evening) daily.
Cash4Life: 8 p.m. daily.
Cash Pop: 8 a.m. (Early Bird), 11 a.m. (Late Morning), 3 p.m. (Matinee), 7 p.m. (Prime Time) and 11 p.m. (Night Owl) daily.
Show Me Cash: 8:59 p.m. daily.
Lotto: 8:59 p.m. Wednesday and Saturday.
Powerball Double Play: 9:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Missouri editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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Missouri

1 dead after rollover crash Friday evening in Kansas City, Missouri

Published

1 day ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

1 dead after rollover crash Friday evening in Kansas City, Missouri

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — One person died in a rollover crash Friday evening in Kansas City, Missouri, on Missouri 152 Highway near North Indiana Avenue.

The victim, whose identity has not been released, was alone in the vehicle, police said.

The crash happened at 5:35 p.m.

No word on what led to the crash.

—

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Missouri

Missouri Secretary of State admits to misleading ballot language for gerrymander referendum

Published

2 days ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Missouri Secretary of State admits to misleading ballot language for gerrymander referendum

Protestors gather in the rotunda to protest a redistricting plan that would split Kansas City into three districts on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025, at the Missouri State Capitol, in Jefferson City, Mo. (Yong Li Xuan/Missourian via AP)

An attorney representing Missouri’s top election official admitted in court Friday that her client had authored ballot language that could “prejudice” voters about a referendum to block the GOP’s new gerrymandered congressional map.

The state constitution gives Missourians the right to veto new state laws by holding a statewide referendum vote. Since Missouri Republicans passed mid-decade redistricting in September, voters have been fighting to put it to a referendum. But the Republican Party – including Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins – are throwing every possible hurdle in its path.

That apparently includes ballot language.

In November, People Not Politicians, the group leading the referendum effort, filed a lawsuit challenging what it termed the “dishonest” text Hoskins had approved.

The court could take over the task of writing the ballot language if Hoskins fails to provide an acceptable version after three tries. A bench trial is scheduled for Feb. 9.

Missouri law requires the secretary of state’s ballot language to be a “true and impartial statement” that isn’t “intentionally argumentative” or “likely to create prejudice either for or against the proposed measure.”

At a hearing Friday, Hoskins’ attorney admitted the ballot summary was likely to create prejudice against the referendum, according to People Not Politicians. She also said the language would be revised in negotiations with the referendum organizers, the Missouri Independent reported.

Now, the state will get “another bite at the apple” to write new language, Chuck Hatfield, an attorney representing People Not Politicians, told Democracy Docket.

“Rather than losing in court, today the Secretary of State simply admitted that he broke the law and sought to deceive Missouri voters,” Richard von Glahn, executive director of People Not Politicians, said in a statement. “While warranted, this admittance does little to alleviate our concerns that a subsequent summary prepared by him will be any more accurate. Missourians deserve the truth about their rights and the referendum.”

According to court filings, the official certified ballot language reads: “Do the people of the state of Missouri approve the act of the General Assembly entitled ‘House Bill No. 1 (2025 Second Extraordinary Session),’ which repeals Missouri’s existing gerrymandered congressional plan that protects incumbent politicians, and replaces it with new congressional boundaries that keep more cities and counties intact, are more compact, and better reflects statewide voting patterns?”

In addition to the misleading ballot language, Republicans have devised relentless obstacles for referendum supporters, including trying to decline certifying the petition on holding a referendum for being filed too soon, reject signatures for being collected too soon, block the petition from moving forward and intimidate referendum supporters.

Hoskins is also insisting on enacting the new map before voters can hold the referendum, breaking with Missouri precedent.

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