A man to be executed in Arkansas next month is making a last ditch push for clemency

An Arkansas man on death row may get onelast chance at clemency when lawyers present previously undisclosed evidence of severe childhood physical and sexual abuse to the parole boardon Monday.Marcel Wayne Williams, 46, one of 8 Arkansas prisonerssentenced for execution in themonth of April, was sentenced to death in 1997 for the rape and murder of ayoung woman in 1994.Julie Vandiver, William'slawyer, filed a new clemency petition for Williams after Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinsonsigned a declarationin early Marchto reinstatecapital punishment to the state for the first time since 2005.Williams' execution date is currently set for April 24.Vandiver told Business Insider that she is petitioning for a review of Williams' case based on the fact thatthe attorneyswho represented Williams'in 1997 did not disclose information about his traumatic past to the jury."Nobodyever did what they were supposed to do in Marcel's case until it was too late," said Vandiver.Evidence of Williams' childhood came to light in 2006, which newattorneys presented to Arkansas judge Leon Holmes.Holmes found that Williamswas subject to "every category of traumatic experience that is generallyused to describe childhood trauma" and ordered for areview of his case within 120 days.Williams' sister, several cousins, and a psychology professor all testified in the case that Williams suffered from an abusive mother, who once poured a pot of boiling water on him and offered"his sexual services to women in their twenties, thirties, and forties, while he was only a child" in exchangefor food stamps. Williams'"crimes, and the person he was when he committed them, were truly the result of a cycle of violence and victimization that began long before he was born," publicdefenderJason P. Kearney, wrote inthe clemency application.The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis overruled the Arkansas decision and the USSupreme Court later declined to go over the case.The crux of Williams' petition, however, is that the Supreme Court ruled in Wiggins v. Smith in 2003 that counsels must investigate and present mitigating evidence such as Williams' history of abuse to juriesin capital punishment cases."Death cases are supposed to have the most heightened standard of review in our justicesystem," Vandiver said. "This important evidence about Marcel's childhood has really evaded review from the courts by no fault of Marcel's.'The clemency petition is limited to capital punishment, specifying that Williams accepts his sentence and that he and Vandiver are asking the parole board torecommend imprisonment without the chance of parole on Monday.In Arkansas, the parole board makes a recommendation, but ultimately the governor has the final say in whether to grant it. Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson has not commented specifically on the case, though he didpush for a revival of executions in the state.Vandiver said that she is confident that her client has "a very strong case."SEE ALSO:Arkansas wants to execute 8 men days before its lethal injection drugs expireJoin the conversation about this storyNOW WATCH: A hacker explains why Trump using his old Android phone for Twitter could be a huge security threat
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