Outcry Grows Over Racial Disparities as Missouri Executes Muslim Prisoner Marcellus Williams After 24 Years

Marcellus "Khaliifah" Williams, an imam at Missouri's Potosi Correctional Center, was put to death on Sept. 24, as his attorneys and supporters contended that racial bias and serious procedural missteps tainted his trial. 

During his 24 years on death row in Missouri, he converted to Islam after being convicted in a 1998 murder case of Felicia Gayle, a former reporter discovered stabbed in her home. 

He consistently maintained his innocence despite multiple unsuccessful appeals and an earlier execution date that was postponed. 

The 55-year-old was put to death by lethal injection shortly after 6 p.m. at a prison in Bonne Terre, according to The Innocence Project, whose attorney had been assisting Williams. 

Missouri execution of Williams occurred a day after Governor Mike Parson and the state's highest court, the U.S. Supreme Court—the final authority that could have overturned Williams’s death sentence—chose not to intervene. 

“No jury nor court, including at the trial, appellate, and Supreme Court levels, have ever found merit in Mr. Williams’ innocence claims,” Parson said in a statement. “At the end of the day, his guilty verdict and sentence of capital punishment were upheld.” 

Over 107,000 people reached out to Governor Parson via calls, emails, and tweets, while more than 600,000 signed the Innocence Project’s petition to halt Williams' execution, according to the organization's press office. 

A letter signed by 69 Muslim, Christian, and Jewish faith leaders had urged Governor Parson to grant leniency to Williams. 

"As an imam, Marcellus serves not only his flock, a group of men, many of whom have been abandoned by society and in desperate need of guidance and strength, but the institution as well — by providing a vital network of support for the prisoners," read the letter. 

Williams was one of multiple inmates on death row in five states slated for execution by Missouri within a single week—an abnormally high count given the ongoing decrease in both the application and public endorsement of the death penalty in the United States. 

Earlier this year, Wesley Bell, the Democratic Prosecuting Attorney for St. Louis County, filed a motion to reverse Williams' conviction, claiming that new DNA evidence could prove his innocence. However, the DNA tests were found to be contaminated because the prosecution mishandled the weapon. 

Advocates for Williams, represented by the Midwest Innocence Project, negotiated a plea deal with prosecutors. Under the terms of this agreement, Williams would not confess to the crime but would accept a life sentence without the possibility of parole. 

The deal was approved by Judge Bruce Hilton and supported by the victim’s family. However, Attorney General Andrew Bailey contested the arrangement, resulting in the Missouri Supreme Court overturning the agreement. 

In a final effort to prevent the Missouri execution, Williams' legal team contended on Monday that the jury selection process was racially discriminatory. 

They pointed out that the jury was composed of 11 white individuals and emphasized the exclusion of at least one potential juror on racial grounds. 

The anger expressed by the Black community online in response to Williams' execution was unmistakable. 

Ashley Yates, known as @brownblaze, pointed out on X that “Approximately 13% of the people in the U.S. are Black. Approximately 41% of the people on Death Row are Black...This isn’t injustice. This is bloodlust.” 

Prominent scholar and civil rights activist Omar Suleiman responded to Williams' execution on social media, saying, “Rest well with the other martyrs escaping an unjust world, dear brother. The criminal justice system is simply criminal.” 

In his final moments, Williams conveyed a message of faith and was visited by his spiritual advisor, highlighting the deep bond he had with his beliefs. 

Williams marks the third person executed in Missouri this year and the 15th execution nationwide.