A man on death row was executed on 24 September despite the fact that both a prosecutor involved in the case and the family of the victim had argued for his life to be spared.
Marcellus Williams was convicted for the 1998 murder of Lisha Gayle, who was a journalist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Williams was sentenced to death and ultimately faced execution two decades later by lethal injection. His son, Marcellus Williams Jr., and his Imam were present with him in the execution room during his final moments.
Williams had his last meal at 10:53 a.m., choosing chicken wings and tater tots. Before he was executed, his final words were: “All praise be to Allah in every situation!!!”
After spending two decades in Missouri’s prison system, Williams became the third person executed in the state this year, marking the 15th execution in the United States overall.
Following his death, his attorney, Tricia Rojo Bushnell, released a statement expressing her feelings on the execution: “Tonight, we all bear witness to Missouri’s grotesque exercise of state power.”
“Let it not be in vain. This should never happen, and we must not let it continue.”
According to the WEproject, which advocated for Williams, Missouri Governor Mike Parson received over a million signatures in a petition demanding a halt to the execution.
Even British billionaire Richard Branson voiced his opinion on the matter, posting on Twitter: “Marcellus Williams was killed today by the state of Missouri for a crime he didn’t commit. It’s a shameful day for Missouri, and a shameful day for Governor Mike Parson, who failed in his duty to protect an innocent man from injustice.”
Despite strong public opposition, including pleas from the victim’s own family who requested that Williams’ sentence be changed to life without parole, Parson and the Missouri Supreme Court declined to intervene.
Williams’ legal team submitted two last-minute appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday (23 September), but both were denied.
In the second appeal, three Supreme Court justices dissented, as newly presented DNA evidence and statements from the prosecutor’s office raised questions about Williams’ possible innocence.
His attorneys pointed out that DNA found on the knife used in the murder matched an unidentified male rather than Williams. However, the court dismissed the request for a hearing on this evidence on Saturday (21 September).
St. Louis County Circuit Judge Bruce Hilton commented on the situation, saying: “There is no basis for a court to find that Williams is innocent, and no court has made such a finding.”
“Williams is guilty of first-degree murder, and has been sentenced to death.”
Despite a trial judge originally agreeing to vacate Williams’ conviction based on a recommendation from the prosecutor’s office, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey contested the move, prompting the judge to reverse his decision.
During the trial, Williams was portrayed as a “caring and loving father.” Former Missouri Governor Eric Greiten had granted a stay of execution in 2017 and assembled a board of inquiry to examine the case more thoroughly.
However, after Governor Parson took office last year, he disbanded the board and lifted the stay on Williams’ execution.
According to prosecutors, Gayle’s murder occurred after Williams allegedly broke into her home, heard the shower running, and then attacked her with a large butcher knife, stabbing her 43 times when she came downstairs. Afterward, he reportedly took her laptop and purse, as stated by officials.
The Missouri Department of Corrections had previously attempted Williams’ execution twice, with the state Supreme Court halting his first scheduled execution in 2015 for additional DNA testing.
