By Leah jones
Marcellus Williams was executed on Sept. 24 despite disapproval from prosecutors and the victim’s family.
A bid for delay was rejected by the US Supreme Court after Missouri governor Mike Parson denied halting his execution. Justices Sotomayor, Kagan and Brown Jackson dissented.
Williams had been on death row for the murder of Felicia Gayle since 2001.The decision was based mainly on the testimonies of two witnesses who were incentivized for testifying.
Many who opposed Williams’ execution, including St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell, criticized the decision to see it through despite contaminated evidence.
Bell and Williams’ legal team sought to argue the latter's innocence based on his DNA not being found on the murder weapon.
However, DNA of the prosecution team was also found, suggesting mishandling of the evidence. This contaminated Williams’ shot at proving his innocence.
The Missouri prosecution’s office and Williams’ lawyers agreed on a life sentence with no chance of parole instead. Gayle’s family also signed off on this deal.
However, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey had the agreement rejected and had the state supreme court move on with Williams’ execution.
The Missouri Attorney General’s office has a history of insisting on executing and fighting wrongful convictions for the sake of finality, regardless of guilt.
Williams was administered a lethal injection at 6:01 pm CT on Sept. 24 and was pronounced dead at 6:10 pm CT.
A poet, devout follower of Islam and imam for prisoners he served with, Williams’ last message was “All Praise Be to Allah In Every Situation!!!”