Death Sentence Reinstated for Melanie Rowell's Killer

0:00Alabama's Attorney General Steve Marshall just announced a big win. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit reversed a ruling and reinstated the death sentence for Marcus Bernard Williams, convicted of capital murder back in 1999. Williams got convicted in St. Clair County for the 1996 rape and strangling of 20-year-old Melanie Rao, a single mom with two. Tathers. He broke into her home while her kids slept, a tractor at knife point for over 15 minutes and left her half-naked body for the little ones too. Find the next morning. Forensic evidence and Williams' own confession sealed the deal, leading a jury to recommend death by an 11-to-1 vote. But years later, a federal court tossed a sentence, claiming his lawyers should have argued his compulsive hypersexuality lessened his blame. The state fired back, saying that defense would have backfired big time. It could have led in proof of another sexual assault, Williams pulled off just. Weeks later, after the Supreme Court sent it back down, the appeals court finally sided with Alabama on Friday, April 3rd.

1:06This ruling locks and Williams' fate after decades of back and forth, underscoring how tough it is to overturn deathro verdicts when the evidence hits this hard. Stay tuned as the case plays out. This has been Birmingham News Today, powered by AI. I'm Corey, with the story.