By Sunita Sohrabji<\/p>\n
Civil rights organizations decried Missouri\u2019s Sept. 24 evening execution of Marcellus Williams, noting that the victim\u2019s family and a prosecuting attorney called for him to be spared the death sentence.<\/p>\n
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Williams was executed by lethal injection at the Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Bonne Terre, Missouri. He had been charged with the murder of journalist Felicia Gayle Picus, who was found dead in her home of Aug. 11, 1998. Picus was stabbed at least 43 times with one of her home kitchen knives.<\/p>\n
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Williams was sentenced to death in 2001. He maintained his innocence throughout his time in prison and in the minutes before he was executed.<\/p>\n
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Hours earlier, the US Supreme Court denied Williams\u2019 request to halt the execution.<\/p>\n
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No DNA Evidence<\/p>\n
The Innocence Project is one of several civil rights organizations which maintains Williams was wrongfully convicted. \u201cNo DNA evidence linked him to the crime,\u201d wrote the organization in a statement released shortly after Williams\u2019 death. \u201cAnd the current St. Louis County prosecuting attorney acknowledged that errors made by the trial prosecutors \u2013 including mishandling the murder weapon and intentionally excluding Black prospective jurors in violation of the Constitution \u2013 contributed to a wrongful conviction.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The Innocence Project alleged that two key eyewitnesses were paid for their testimony. The organization also stated that \u2014 despite evidence that Williams was not Picus\u2019 killer \u2014 the Missouri Attorney General\u2019s Office and Missouri Governor Mike Parsons pressed for Williams\u2019 execution.<\/p>\n
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\u201cMr. Williams\u2019 story echoes that of too many others caught in our country\u2019s broken criminal legal system: a Black man convicted of killing a white woman,\u201d wrote the Innocence Project.<\/p>\n
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NAACP<\/p>\n
The NAACP Legal Defense Fund also maintained Williams innocence. \u201cTonight, our legal system tragically failed Marcellus \u201cKhaliifah\u201d Williams for the final time,\u201d the organization posted to X\/formerly Twitter Sept. 24 evening. \u201cThe state of Missouri executed Mr. Williams in a horrific display of inhumanity, despite compelling evidence of his innocence.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u201cTonight, we mourn his loss and honor his legacy,\u201d wrote the NAACP.<\/p>\n
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In August, Picus\u2019 husband Dan, a radiologist, told court officials and representatives of state Attorney General Andrew Bailey\u2019s office that while he believed Williams was guilty, he did not want to see Williams executed, reported The Intercept.<\/p>\n