Missouri Man Executed Despite Victim’s Family and Prosecutor’s Objections

Marcellus Williams, a Missouri man convicted of the 1998 killing of Lisha Gayle, was executed on Tuesday despite objections from the victim’s family and the prosecutor. Williams, 55, was put to death for breaking into Gayle’s home and repeatedly stabbing her during a burglary in suburban St. Louis.

Questions were raised by Williams’ attorneys regarding jury selection at his trial and the handling of evidence in the case. His clemency petition highlighted the wishes of Gayle’s relatives, who wanted Williams’ sentence commuted to life without parole. As Williams awaited execution, he appeared to converse with a spiritual adviser before ultimately showing no further movement.

Governor Mike Parson expressed hope that the execution would bring closure to a case that had lingered for decades, stating that no juror or judge had found Williams’ innocence claim credible. The NAACP, however, condemned the execution, with President Derrick Johnson stating that Missouri had “lynched another innocent Black man.”

Despite efforts to commute Williams’ sentence to life in prison, the state Supreme Court nullified the agreement between the prosecuting attorney’s office and Williams’ attorneys. Williams was among several death row inmates scheduled for execution in a week, defying a decline in the use of the death penalty in the U.S.

The case against Williams included testimony from a cellmate who claimed Williams confessed to the killing, as well as evidence found at the crime scene. Questions about DNA evidence and the fairness of the trial were also raised, but ultimately, Williams was executed, becoming the third Missouri inmate put to death this year.