We Cannot Let Missouri Kill Marcellus “Khaliifah” Williams: The Black Man Proven Innocent But Scheduled to be Executed in September

For over 24 years, Marcellus “Khaliifah” Williams has suffered on Missouri’s death row for a crime he did not commit. No evidence has linked him to the victim or crime scene. The two “incentivized informants” who testified against him were promised reward money and leniency in their own pending cases. In 2015, Marcellus requested a DNA test, which exonerated him and pointed to another individual as the perpetrator. This year, St. Louis County Prosecution determined he is an innocent man. Despite all this, Missouri plans to execute him in less than 80 days. A Poet and Leader: Marcellus Williams’ Life and Influence Marcellus Williams is a lifelong poet and has become the imam (Islamic leadership position) for his community at the Potosi Correctional Center.& “I don’t have to write. In fact, there have been long periods of time that I didn’t write a piece at all,” he told the Innocence Project. “But it’s a way for me to express myself and communicate and be understood.” The Innocence Project has also published a handful of his poems.& Though he writes through many different topics and lenses, Williams has used poetry to connect with others enmeshed in the same horrifying, confusing legal...