Missouri’s Modern-Day Lynching: Marcellus Williams Advocates Speak Outside MO Supreme Court Appeal Hearing, Less Than 24 Hours Until Scheduled Execution

Today, advocates for Marcellus “Khaliifah” Williams gathered outside the Missouri Supreme Court, where his appeal was heard in a final attempt to halt his execution scheduled for tomorrow, September 24th. This appeal hearing represents one of the last legal avenues to save the life of a man who has been wrongfully convicted for over 20 years. Williams was sentenced to death in 2001 for the 1998 murder of former Post-Dispatch reporter Felicia Gayle, a crime for which DNA evidence now proves his innocence. Yet, despite this crucial evidence, Missouri courts and the state’s Attorney General persist in their efforts to carry out this state-sanctioned murder, exemplifying the ongoing legacy of racial violence within the American carceral, punishment system. Michelle Smith, Co-Director of Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (MADP), emphasized the injustice surrounding the case. “Finality of a judgment overrides a human person’s life?” She stated in response to comments made by Attorney General where he stated there has to be some finality to a court decision. “That is problematic for me, Nothing should be above actual justice,” Smith said. Nimrod Chapel (President of MO NAACP) & Michelle Smith (Co-Director of MADP) speak outside the courtroom of the Missouri...