Missouri cancels next week’s execution, gives no reason

The execution scheduled for next week for a Missouri inmate has been called off by the Missouri Supreme Court.

The court on Thursday withdrew the execution warrant for 46-year-old Marcellus Williams, who had been set for execution at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday. A court spokeswoman declined to discuss the reason.

After a state record 10 executions in 2014, the execution was the first scheduled in Missouri this year.

Williams was convicted of fatally stabbing Lisha Gayle at her suburban St. Louis home in 1998. Gayle was a former reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch who left the paper in 1992.

Williams’ attorneys had asked the courts to stop the execution, citing a lack of evidence. They also sought additional DNA testing they said could prove Williams was innocent.