By Izayah Morgan
Opinions Editor
On Sept. 24, Marcellus Williams died by lethal injection for a 1998 conviction of killing Lisha Gayle, who was stabbed during a burglary.
I saw multiple news sources questioning this conviction and the evidence presented in this case. Even more so, there was a public outcry for this man to not be executed.
I asked myself, “Why?”
Well, knowing how the justice system has historically treated Black people, it did not strike me as something that has not happened before. The justice system requires systemic changes I'm not so well educated on, so my opinion would not mean as much.
However, I'm not trying to change the justice system with this opinion. Just show the man Marcellus was.
Marcellus Williams was a man who nearly served 24 years in prison - never pleading guilty to the case and standing strong while doing his time. Prison, much like any isolation, changes people's perspective on life.
He was a devout Muslim, leading his fellow prisoners in prayer, and also wrote quite a bit of poetry as well.
Williams was put to death in spite of the questions from his attorney about jury selection and possible biases they could have had.
These questions were denied.
His clemency petition focused heavily on the fact that the victim’s family (Gayle) wanted Williams’ sentence commuted to life without the possibility of parole.
They were not saying that he was innocent, but that he will continue to serve and continue to make amends with what he did. This would have allowed Williams to keep wrestling with what happened, but continue to provide value to his fellow inmates and work toward his relationship with Allah.
He was denied.
Missouri Gov. Mike Parsons had the ability to help but made a statement, saying, “No jury or judge has ever found Williams’ innocence claim to be credible.”
My argument is not to proclaim that he is innocent but simply to question why this execution was carried out in the first place. If the family wanted him to spend the rest of his life in jail, why was he killed?
He provided for not just himself, but for his community and Allah. He was in prison because of his murder charge, and deserves the right to keep fighting for his innocence.
As Americans we deserve the right to fight, and Marcellus Williams' right was taken away from him.
The Innocence Project took on Williams' case and lined out eight main points on their website.
One, “A crime scene covered with forensic evidence contained no link to Mr. Williams.”
Two, “The prosecution’s case against Mr. Williams was based entirely on the unreliable testimony of two incentivized witnesses.”
Three, “Mr. Williams has repeatedly faced imminent execution as he has tried to prove his innocence.”
Four, “Although the victim’s family opposes Mr. Williams’ execution, the Missouri Attorney General has continued to fight to execute him.”
Five, “Incentivized informants are a leading cause of wrongful convictions.”
Six, “Racial bias contributed to Mr. Williams’ wrongful conviction.”
Seven, “Mr. Williams is heavily religious and spends time writing poetry.”
Eight, “You can help stop Mr. Williams’ unjust execution.” Well, unfortunately that's no longer an option we have. To continue to fight for his innocence was a privilege, and the community I saw form around this situation was beautiful. In order to stop acts of injustice like this one from happening, we cannot stop talking about it. Know the man. Know his name. Know his faith. Rest in power Marcellus Williams.