Episode 2703
Murder of Felicia Gayle
Thu, 2024-Sep-26 01:38 UTC
Length - 2:46
Direct Link
Welcome to Popular Wiki of the Day, spotlighting Wikipedia's most visited pages, giving you a peek into what the world is curious about today.
With 441,259 views on Wednesday, 25 September 2024 our article of the day is Murder of Felicia Gayle.
Felicia Gayle "Lisha" Picus was an American journalist murdered during a burglary in her gated community in University City, Missouri, on August 11, 1998. 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.
Marcellus Williams was charged with the murder of Felicia Gayle. Prosecutors based evidence mainly on alleged confessions Williams had made, including one alleged by a jailhouse snitch. In August 2001, Williams was sentenced to death. On appeal, he raised several issues, including claims of errors in evidentiary rulings, jury instructions, and victim impact testimony. He also challenged the use of his prior criminal history and alleged improper prosecutorial comments during closing arguments. The death sentence was controversial, as DNA evidence had been claimed to prove his innocence, and the family of Gayle repeatedly stating they did not want Williams executed. The court rejected these arguments, finding no abuse of discretion by the trial court.
The Missouri Supreme Court rejected Williams's appeal, concluding that it was neither disproportionate nor influenced by prejudice. They concluded that there were sufficient statutory aggravating circumstances, such as the brutality of the crime and Williams' prior convictions. The court affirmed both the conviction and the death sentence. Williams was executed on September 24, 2024, amid ongoing protests, including from the prosecutor and the victim's family, who opposed the use of the death penalty in his case.
This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 01:38 UTC on Thursday, 26 September 2024.
For the full current version of the article, see Murder of Felicia Gayle on Wikipedia.
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