Missouri death row inmate agrees to new plea, drops innocence bid

Associated Press

CLAYTON, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri death row inmate has dropped his innocence claim and entered a new no-contest plea in an agreement that calls for a new sentence of life in prison without parole. The Missouri Attorney General’s Office opposes the new consent judgment and will appeal in an effort to move ahead with the scheduled Sept. 24 execution of Marcellus Williams. The complicated turn of events happened on the day a judge was supposed to oversee a hearing requested by Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell aimed at vacating Williams’ first-degree murder conviction. But new testing showed that DNA evidence Williams’ lawyers planned to present was contaminated because of handling by the previous prosecutor’s office. The contamination thwarted Williams’ attempt to prove his innocence.