Marcellus Williamsa 55-year-old man from Missouri, was executed on Tuesday, despite objections from the victim’s family and the prosecutor, who wanted to commute the death sentence to life imprisonment. Williams was convicted of burglary in Lisha Gayles home in a St. Louis suburb in 1998 and stabbed her repeatedly.
Williams’ attorneys raised concerns about the jury selection at his trial and the handling of evidence in the case. The clemency petition emphasized that Gayle’s relatives asked for Williams’ sentence to be commuted to life without the possibility of parole, arguing, “The family defines closure as the life of Marcellus. Marcellus’ execution is not necessary.”
During the execution, Williams appeared to speak with a spiritual adviser and made some movements before his chest rose and fell about half a dozen times. His son and two lawyers were present in another room, but no one was there to represent the victim’s family. The Department of Corrections released a brief statement written by Williams beforehand, saying: “All praise is due to Allah in every situation!!!”
Governor Mike Parson and the state Supreme Court rejected Williams’ appeal, and the Supreme Court of the United States refused to intervene.
The NAACP called on Parson to call off the execution. President Derrick Johnson said, “Tonight, Missouri lynched another innocent black man.”
Last month, an agreement between the St. Louis County District Attorney’s Office and Williams’ lawyers to commute the sentence to life in prison was overturned by the state Supreme Court after the Missouri Attorney General’s Office filed an appeal.
Questions about the DNA evidence led to a hearing where Williams’ guilt was questioned, but new tests showed that the DNA on the knife came from prosecutors’ employees who had handled it without gloves.
Williams’ lawyers also questioned the fairness of his trial, particularly the fact that only one of the 12 jurors was black. Prosecutor Keith Larner testified that he rejected a potential black juror in part because he looked too much like Williams, which Williams’ lawyers said showed inappropriate racial bias.
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