The state of Missouri executed Marcellus Williams, 55, after wrongfully convicting him of first-degree murder, robbery and burglary in 1998 on Sept. 24. The death of this innocent man has produced difficult but pivotal conversations about racism embedded within the criminal justice system. 

Felicia Gayle, a journalist, was stabbed over 40 times in her gated community home on Aug. 11, 1998. The intruder entered her home while she was in the shower and grabbed a butcher knife from her kitchen, slashing her neck, back and thigh. Williams was going to be convicted  despite protests from the St. Louis County prosecutor’s office.  According to the Equal Justice Initiative, in January,  the prosecution attorney wrote that “new DNA evidence, increasing doubts about the credibility of the State’s key witnesses, and constitutional defects including ineffective counsel and racially discriminatory jury selection at trial compelled hm to ask the circuit court ‘to correct this manifest injustice.’” 

In the reiteration of Williams’ case, the Innocence Project writes “The state destroyed or corrupted the evidence that could conclusively prove his innocence..” According to Jim Salter, the AP correspondent in St. Louis, “new DNA test results, released on Monday, changed everything. They determined that the knife used in the killing was mishandled in the aftermath of the crime. DNA from Edward Magee, an investigator for the prosecutor’s office at the time, was found and testing also couldn’t exclude the original prosecutor in the case, Keith Larner.” Thus demonstrating the mishandling of evidence.

This is only one depiction of how Marcellus Williams was failed by the criminal justice system: Missouri Gov. Mike Parson could have prevented his death by granting clemency. By using his authority to grant clemency, Williams’ case could have been prolonged for further appeals. 

It is important to note that many people, including the family of Felicia Gayle, believed Williams’ should not be executed. The family urged against his execution, as well as hundreds of  social groups.

In fact, Williams received more than 1 million signatures from those who advocated for his freedom. Many TikTok influencers even took to their platforms to educate viewers about the state of the case and encouraged them to sign the petition to stop his execution. 

Despite multiple efforts to free this innocent man, the State of Missouri continued to carry out his execution. The loud and furious voices of 1 million people was not enough to save his life. The victim’s family and lack of evidence was not enough to save his life. 

Marcellus Williams left us with the parting words “All praise be to Allah in every situation!” before his lethal injection took his life and was pronounced dead by 6:10 p.m. May this situation be a reminder that we, as the people of the United States, should be as equally involved as we are angered by constant discriminatory patterns of social injustice. You do not have to be personally affected by injustice to understand the deep and unruly nature of its origins. Say his name, #MarcellusWilliams.