His Best Chance to Get Off Death Row Was DNA on the Murder Weapon, but Prosecutors “Contaminated” the Evidence
The prosecutor’s actions two decades ago doomed Marcellus Williams’s shot at exoneration. Now the AG won’t let his life be spared.
Jordan Smith
Jordan Smith is a state and national award-winning investigative journalist based in Kansas City, Missouri. She has covered the criminal legal system for more than 25 years and, during that time, has developed a reputation as a resourceful and dogged reporter with a talent for analyzing complex social and legal issues. She spent more than 20 years reporting in Texas where she was regarded as one of the best investigative reporters in the state. Her investigative work in wrongful conviction cases has helped to exonerate six people. A longtime staff writer for the Austin Chronicle, her work has also appeared in The Nation, the Crime Report, and the Texas Observer, among other places.
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A Prosecutor Admits His Office’s Incompetence Cut Off an Innocent Man’s Path to Exoneration
A Missouri prosecutor was set to argue that Marcellus Williams had been wrongly convicted. New evidence that prosecutors had mishandled the murder weapon got in the way.
The End of Roe
By Vowing to Codify Roe, Kamala Harris Ensures Continued Government Meddling in Abortion Care
Reproductive justice advocates warn that stopping at enshrining Roe’s protections would allow abortion bans and restrictions to flourish.
Despite Missouri AG’s Best Efforts, Man Condemned to Die Will Get Hearing On His Innocence Claim
Attorney General Andrew Bailey had argued that the state should execute Marcellus Williams without vetting evidence of his wrongful conviction.
Trials of Richard Glossip
Supreme Court’s Hand-Picked Advocate Argues in Favor of Killing Richard Glossip
Oklahoma’s attorney general believes Glossip’s conviction should be overturned. Chief Justice John Roberts chose a former clerk to argue that the AG is wrong.
There’s a Junk Science Crisis in Criminal Convictions. Sonia Sotomayor Calls It Out in Alabama Bite-Mark Case.
While the court refused to review the 1985 case of Charles McCrory, Sotomayor urged states to pass laws to help exonerate people imprisoned on debunked forensic evidence.
The End of Roe
Alito’s Dissent in Emergency Abortion Case Provides “Building Blocks” for More Extreme Bans
Despite deciding not to decide, the Supreme Court’s conservative supermajority laid out a legal road map for anti-abortion zealots.
The End of Roe
GOP States Double Down on Fighting Medication Abortion After Supreme Court Keeps It Legal
From the jump, the lawsuit challenging the legality of mifepristone was a cynical, propagandistic endeavor. In a 9-0 opinion, the Supreme Court threw it out.
Missouri’s Attorney General Is Waging War to Keep the Wrongly Convicted Locked Up
Andrew Bailey’s office has a losing record of fighting against exonerations recommended by local prosecutors — but it’s not giving up.
A Prosecutor Asked Texas to Kill Melissa Lucio. Now He Says She Should Be Freed.
If the courts agree to vacate the conviction, Lucio will have spent 16 years on death row for a crime that never happened.