The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit reversed an order vacating the death sentence for Marcus Bernard Williams.
Williams was convicted of capital murder in a 1999 St. Clair County case in which prosecutors proved he raped and murdered Melanie Rowell, 20. The single mother of two had already put her children to bed when Williams broke into her home in the middle of the night and then raped and strangled her at knifepoint. Her toddlers found her naked body the next morning.
Attorney General Steve Marshall said Williams confessed and forensic evidence linked him to the scene.
A federal court previously vacated the conviction, claiming Williams’s “hypersexuality” diminished his culpability.
The AG’s office successfully persuaded the U.S. Supreme Court to vacate and remand the case, and the 11th Circuit voted on April 3 to reinstate Williams’ death sentence.
Marshall commended the Solicitor General Division and the Capital Litigation Division for their tireless efforts to see justice done for Melanie Rowell and her family.
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