Photo: Innocence Project
The NAACP is urging Missouri Governor Mike Parson to stop the scheduled execution of Marcellus Williams on Tuesday (September 24), Essence reports.
Williams, now 55, was convicted in 1998 of killing former newspaper reporter Felicia Gayle.
Williams, who's been on death row for years, has maintained his innocence. In an open letter, NAACP President Derrick Johnson and Missouri State Conference President Nimrod Chapel Jr. said executing Williams would be a “horrible miscarriage of justice.”
“Taking the life of Marcellus Williams would be an unequivocal statement that when a white woman is killed, a Black man must die. And any Black man will do,” Johnson wrote in the letter.
Johnson also included a statement from the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney's Office, indicating that there was no physical evidence that links Williams to Gayle's death.
Williams' lawyers are asking the Supreme Court to step in the case, citing that his rights have been violated throughout his legal battle.
In 2017, former Governor Eric Greitens paused Williams' execution and appointed a board to investigate whether he should be granted clemency. However, Governor Mike Parson disbanded the board and reinstated the execution.
Williams' lawyer believe he was stripped of his due process rights because the board didn't get to finish its investigation.
“The Board investigated Williams’ case for the next six years — until Governor Parson abruptly terminated the process,” Williams' defense team said in court documents obtained by CNN. “The Governor’s actions have violated Williams’ constitutional rights and created an exceptionally urgent need for the Court’s attention.”
Earlier this year, St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell also pointed to missteps in Williams' original trial, including the removal of a potential Black juror.
“These would be key issues for the Board of Inquiry’s consideration in whether to recommend clemency instead of execution — if the Governor had not wrongly dissolved the Board,” documents states.
However, a judge recently denied a motion to vacate Williams' conviction. His legal team is still looking for ways to stop the scheduled execution.
US Rep. Cori Bush also sent a letter to Governor Parson, urging him to stop the execution. “We are urging you to immediately commute Mr. Williams’ sentence and halt his execution,” Bush wrote, noting that the move would be a “grave injustice."
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