Death row inmate Marcellus "Khaliifah" Williams, 55, was executed by lethal injection yesterday. As reported in The Guardian, Missouri's Attorney General Andrew Bailey and Governor Mike Parson insisted on executing Williams even though the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney's Office pleaded with them to reconsider.
Williams had been found guilty of stabbing a woman to death in 1998. He consistently maintained his innocence, and as the years went on, the case against him looked increasingly flimsy:
- No forensic evidence linked Williams to the murder weapon or crime scene.
- Repeated DNA testing found that Williams's fingerprints were not on the knife used in the murder.
- The prosecution's office mishandled the murder weapon, touching it without gloves before the trial, which compromised potential evidence.
- Key witnesses against him were not reliable due to their criminal backgrounds and motivation by a reward offer.
As the execution date approached, many people connected to the case pleaded to save Williams's life:
- The St. Louis county prosecuting attorney's office filed a motion to overturn Williams's conviction, citing new evidence suggesting his innocence.
- Several trial jurors said they opposed his execution.
- The original prosecutor admitted to rejecting a potential Black juror because he looked like he could be Williams's "brother."
- The victim's family and three jurors supported calls to revoke his death sentence.
"Bailey and Parson have not commented on their decision to override the wishes of the victim's family," reports The Guardian, "but have pointed to the fact that the courts have repeatedly upheld Williams's conviction throughout his years of appeals."
Previously:
• Texas lawmakers want Death Penalty for women who get abortions
• Nebraska's billionaire governor couldn't preserve the death penalty through the law, so now he's buying a ballot initiative
• Brunei has a new law: death by stoning for gay sex
