September 25th 2024.
Marcellus Williams, a man of 55 years old, was convicted for the brutal murder of Lisha Gayle during a home invasion in 1998. Despite the prosecutor and victim's family pleading for his life to be spared, a death row inmate has been executed for the crime. Lisha was stabbed over 40 times during a burglary at her home in St Louis, Missouri.
In a petition for clemency, Lisha's relatives expressed that they do not believe Williams' execution is necessary and that true closure would come from him being allowed to live. However, Williams' execution was one of five scheduled in the United States within a week - the highest number in two decades. His final words were "All praise be to Allah in every situation" and his last meal included chicken wings and tater tots.
As Williams lay awaiting execution, he was seen chatting with a spiritual advisor who was seated next to him. After the lethal injection was administered, his chest heaved about six times and then he showed no further movement. Williams' son and two lawyers watched from another room, as no one was present on behalf of the victim's family.
Williams had stabbed Lisha more than 40 times, and his attorneys released a statement saying, "Tonight, we all bear witness to Missouri's grotesque exercise of state power. Let it not be in vain. This should never happen, and we must not let it continue." The NAACP was among the many organizations urging Missouri's Governor, Mike Parson, to stop the execution. "Tonight, Missouri lynched another innocent Black man," said NAACP President Derrick Johnson.
Williams was one of five death row inmates in five different states who were all scheduled to be put to death within a week - a surprisingly high number considering the decline in support and use of the death penalty in the US. The first execution took place in South Carolina on Friday, and another was scheduled for Tuesday evening in Texas.
This was not the first time Williams faced execution - he had received reprieves in 2015 and 2017, but this time, his last-ditch efforts were unsuccessful. Governor Parson and the state Supreme Court both rejected his appeals, and the US Supreme Court declined to intervene just hours before he was executed. In a statement, the governor expressed his hope that this execution would bring closure to a case that had been ongoing for decades and had caused immense pain for Lisha's family. "No juror nor judge has ever found Williams' innocence claim to be credible," Parson said. Williams was the third Missouri inmate to be put to death this year and the 100th since the state resumed use of the death penalty in 1989.
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