Missouri executes Marcellus Williams, convicted of murder in 1998
The victim's family and the prosecution asked until the last moment that his death sentence be commuted to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Marcellus Williams mug shot
Missouri executed inmate Marcellus Williams last Tuesday for the murder of Lisha Gayle in 1998. The victim was stabbed repeatedly during a burglary at her suburban St. Louis home. After the Supreme Court rejected appeals to commute the sentence, promoted by the victim's family and the prosecution, the sentence was carried out.
Williams'attorneys tried to avoid capital punishment during the trial raising doubts about jury selection and how the evidence was handled. In addition, the victim's family's request for him to be sentenced to life in prison was the basis of the clemency request drafted by the defense, although it was also not enough.
As AFP reports, Williams, with priors for burglary and robbery, was found guilty after testimony from a former cellmate and an ex-girlfriend, although his DNA was not found at the crime scene.
His execution was stayed in 2015 and again in 2017 after the discovery of a male DNA on the knife that was not his. The governor at the time, Eric Greitens ordered a commission of inquiry, which was later disactivated by his successor, Michael Parson, in 2023.
Controversy in networks after the execution
The execution, which Governor Parson justified with a statement in which he assured that "no juror nor judge has ever found Williams’ innocence claim to be credible," provoked a barrage of criticism, in many cases pointing to the color of the inmate's skin as the cause of the sentence not being commuted. One of the most forceful was Derrick Johnson, president of the NAACP.
"Tonight, Missouri lynched another innocent Black man. Governor Parson had the responsibility to save this innocent life, and he didn’t. The NAACP was founded in 1909 in response to the barbaric lynching of Black people in America — we were founded exactly because of people like Governor Parson who perpetuate violence against innocent Black people. We will hold Governor Parson accountable. When DNA evidence proves innocence, capital punishment is not justice—it is murder."
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