Wed Sep 25 19:54:23 UTC 2024: ## Missouri Executes Man Despite Prosecutor’s Plea for Clemency

**ST. LOUIS, MO** – Marcellus “Khaliifah” Williams, 55, was executed by lethal injection on Tuesday despite the objections of the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, who sought to overturn his conviction and have supported his claims of innocence. The execution sparked widespread outrage, as the office that originally tried the case has publicly stated that Williams was likely wrongfully convicted.

Williams was convicted of the 1998 murder of Lisha Gayle, a social worker and former St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter. He was accused of breaking into Gayle’s home, stabbing her to death, and stealing her belongings. However, no forensic evidence linked Williams to the murder weapon or crime scene. The victim’s family, along with several trial jurors, have publicly stated their opposition to the execution, echoing the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s concerns about the conviction.

Despite these concerns, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey pushed forward with the execution, overriding the wishes of the prosecuting attorney, the victim’s family, and numerous civil rights advocates and lawmakers across the United States.

“We must all question any system that would allow this to occur,” said Tricia Rojo Bushnell, Williams’s attorney. “The execution of an innocent person is the most extreme manifestation of Missouri’s obsession with ‘finality’ over truth, justice, and humanity.”

Williams, who served as the imam in his prison, had his execution halted twice before due to questions surrounding the evidence and potential DNA testing. In 2015, DNA testing revealed no trace of Williams’s DNA on the murder weapon. However, a forensic expert testified that the weapon had been mishandled by prosecutors before the trial, potentially contaminating any potential evidence.

In January 2023, the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney filed a motion to overturn Williams’ conviction, citing the lack of evidence and potential constitutional errors in the original trial.

In a final plea to the Governor, the prosecuting attorney’s office pointed to recent testimony from the original prosecutor, who admitted to rejecting a potential Black juror because he looked like he could be Williams’s “brother”. The jury that convicted Williams had 11 white members and one Black member.

Despite the evidence and pleas for clemency, Missouri Governor Mike Parson rejected Williams’s request for clemency on Monday. The US Supreme Court also denied a final request to halt the execution on Tuesday.

Williams’s execution has been condemned by several organizations and individuals, including the NAACP, Missouri Congresswoman Cori Bush, and the Midwest Innocence Project. They have all condemned the execution as a miscarriage of justice and called for the abolition of the death penalty.

The execution is one of five scheduled across the US in a one-week period, highlighting the ongoing debate surrounding the death penalty and the continued risk of executing innocent people.

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