Highly Controversial Death Sentence Carried Out

A Muslim inmate’s highly controversial death sentence was upheld in Missouri this week as the United States’ top court declined a request to intervene. Khalifah Marcellus Williams was executed on the contested conviction of a 1998 murder in spite of significant irregularities in his case. His legal team had attempted to get the American Supreme Court involved, but the court split across ideological lines and ultimately refused to intervene.

Williams, a 55-year-old black American convert to Islam, was controversially convicted in 2001 for the August 1998 murder of St. Louis reporter Felicity Gayle at her home. In what appeared to have been a robbery gone awry, the victim was stabbed forty-three times – but it is unlikely that Williams was in fact the culprit. Several activist organisations, including the Midwest Innocence Project, had cited major irregularities in the case and protested against Williams’ execution, which had been stayed on several occasions, including by the previous Missouri governor Eric Greitens.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson Ignored Pleas and Evidence

His successor Mike Parson, on the other hand, had no hesitation in approving Williams’ execution in spite of repeated pleas, dissolving a board set up to review the case before it could reach a conclusion in summer 2023; in response, the prisoner unsuccessfully took him to court.

“We hope this gives finality to a case that’s languished for decades,” Parsons’ office announced, “re-victimizing Ms. Gayle’s family for decades.” This in spite of the family’s own opposition to the execution order, preferring a sentence of life without parole

One of Williams’ attorneys, Tricia Bushnell, noted that the governor and state attorney-general Andrew Bailey pushed for his execution despite the fact that “the prosecutor doesn’t want him to be executed, the jurors who sentenced him to death don’t want him executed and the victims themselves don’t want him to be executed. We have a system that values finality over fairness, and this is the result that we will get from that.”

Mishandling of Evidence and Dubious Testimony

Reservations against the conviction cited the mishandling of the evidence by the prosecutors’ office, as well as dubious testimony by the prosecution. Critics included the prosecuting attorney at St. Louis, Wesley Bell, who wrote earlier this year that the “murderer left behind considerable physical evidence. None of that physical evidence can be tied to Mr Williams. New evidence suggests that Mr Williams is actually innocent.”

Williams converted to Islam in prison and became a respected imam, maintaining his innocence until the end. The American imam Omar Suleiman was among those who called to stop the execution because of “clear and convincing evidence of his innocence.” Federal public defenders testified to his character: “To us, Khalifah was an inspiration. We aspire to his level of faith, to his integrity, and to his complete devotion to the people in his life.”

Last Statement

Williams’ last statement before his execution was a Muslim prayer in times of adversity: “All Praise Be to Allah in Every Situation!!!”

Imam Khalifah Marcellus Williams last statement

23 Years Studying Islam and Writing

During his twenty three years of incarceration, Williams spent much of his time studying Islam, and writing poetry. He adopted the Muslim name Khalifah, meaning successor or leader. His behavior in prison was consistently exemplary, and those who knew him (inside prison and beyond) have described him as inspiring. He served as Imam to the prisoners in the Potosi Correctional Center.

Federal Public Defender’s Statement

The federal public defender released the following statement regarding Imam Williams’ case and character:

Poetry By Khalifah Mercellus Williams:

We have included a few of Imam Williams’ poems:

An Affair of I

devious smiles
nervous grins
political sins
legal flips and spins

fingers begin to bend to form a fist then –
handshakes weakened
cordiality and decorum ends

constitution blowing in the wind
panel dismantled according to whims
governor’s patience wearing thin
“been going on too long” –
been alive too long is what they intend
execution date sought how dare anyone question why?

In his latest effort, Williams noted the horrors visited upon the children of Gaza:

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