A condemned Arkansas inmate is again asking the Arkansas Supreme Court to stop his execution, arguing that his previous attorney plagiarized a court filing.
The Arkansas Supreme Court has repeatedly declined to stop Marcel Williams' execution, one of two planned for Monday night. In a late afternoon court filing, Williams asked justices for a stay of execution so he can argue claims that his prior attorneys were ineffectual.
The court filing says that nearly 10 pages of an earlier appeal "was cut and pasted verbatim from a 1961 United States Supreme Court case."
Williams is also asking the U.S. Supreme Court for a stay, saying that his trial attorneys did not present evidence of abuse that Williams suffered as a child during sentencing.