Marcellus Williams is Innocent

On 24 September, the state of Missouri plans to kill Marcellus Williams for a crime he did not commit. If justice has any meaning in Missouri, Governor Mike Parson must step in now and stop the killing of an innocent man on his watch.

Mr. Williams, who is 55 years old, has been languishing on Missouri’s death row for 24 years, following his conviction for the 1998 murder of former reporter Felicia “Lisha” Gayle. Ms Gayle was brutally stabbed to death in her St. Louis home.

While investigators found plenty of forensic evidence at the crime scene, none of it could be linked to Mr. Williams. His conviction was entirely based on the inconsistent and unverified testimony of two incentivised witnesses.

Throughout this ordeal, Mr Williams has been maintaining his innocence. And in 2016, DNA testing did confirm Mr. Williams was not the source of the male DNA found on the murder weapon.

A board of inquiry set up to look into his innocence claim was abruptly dissolved by Governor Parson in 2023. And just a few weeks ago, it was discovered that the trial prosecutors had corrupted the DNA evidence on the murder weapon that could have exonerated Mr Williams. Following the discovery, a plea deal that would have spared Mr Williams life was struck down by Missouri’s Supreme Court.

With just a few days remaining until the execution date, Mr William’s survival now rests in Governor Parson’s hands. He has the power to grant clemency and commute Mr. Williams’ sentence or issue a stay of execution until further appeals can be resolved.

So, please call Gov. Parson at 417-373-3400 or sign the petition to stop Mr. Williams’ execution and prevent the murder of an innocent man. Every voice, every intervention counts.

Sadly, Mr. Williams’s case is not an isolated incident of justice taking a wrong turn. Since 1973, more than 200 individuals have been freed from American death rows after new evidence, including DNA testing, proved their innocence – tragically often after decades of imprisonment. In fact, for every eight executions carried out, one person has been exonerated – a staggering rate of error that would not be tolerated in any other context.

But despite this shocking indictment, the machinery of death carries on, often without any regard for truth, reasonable doubt, or fairness.

In Texas, Robert Roberson is schedule to die on October for a crime that didn’t even happen, a miscarriage of justice based on junk science so grotesque that it has prompted a broad coalition of bipartisan lawmakers, scientists and doctors, organisations that advocate for people with autism, and the former lead detective who now belives he is innocent to fight for his life.

In Alabama, Toforest Johnson is awaiting an execution date for a murder he has never been linked to – neither by physical evidence, nor by eyewitness testimony. Even his original prosecutor is now calling for a new trial to prove Mr Johnson’s innocence.

And then there Richard Glossip in Oklahoma, whose case I’ve been following for nine years now. The US Supreme Court has scheduled a hearing for October to determine whether he should be given another day in court – after 26 years on death row and coming within minutes of execution on several occasions.

All of these cases, from four different US states, expose a worrying pattern of systemic failure that should leave even ardent supporters of the death penalty wondering whether it can ever be administered fairly. 54 percent of Americans, according to a recent Gallup poll, seem to think that it can’t. I am with them. The death penalty is not only inhumane and unjust, but also broken beyond repair and doesn’t make communities safer.

America should end it for good. Head over to Missourians to Abolish the Death Penalty and the Innocence Project to learn more about how you can engage and help save Marcellus Williams’ life.