Marcellus Williams has been executed by the Missouri State.
Despite several petitions to the Missouri State’s governor to halt the execution of Marcellus Williams, the inmate was reportedly executed by lethal injection on September 24th at around 6:00 pm CT at the state prison, Bonne Terre.
Marcellus Williams was executed for his conviction in the 1998 murder of former newspaper reporter Felicia Gayle, a crime he insisted he did not commit.
His execution comes despite strong opposition from prosecutors and the victim’s family, suggesting that he should instead be given a life sentence rather than be put to death.
Williams’s attorneys claimed that the prosecution mishandled the murder weapon and that there was a racial component to the proceedings, with one of the prosecutors striking potential jurors because they were black.
The Missouri Supreme Court rejected appeals to halt the execution of Marcellus and maintained that the defence attorneys failed to provide clear and convincing evidence that he is not guilty of the crime.
In preparation for his execution, at around 6:00 pm CT, the Missouri State Attorney General, Andrew Bailey, notified the prison that there are no legal hindrances to his death penalty. The lethal injection was administered at 6:01 pm CT, and he was pronounced dead at exactly 6:10 pm CT.
The state prison revealed his last statement after his execution, and he wrote, “All praises be to Allah in every situation!!!”
Reports revealed that he was a devoted Muslim and served as imam and poet.