The Sept. 24, 2024 execution of 55-year-old Marcellus Williams in Bonne Terre, Mo. is undeniable proof that the United States empire is not interested in carrying out justice–but is instead dedicated to upholding the legacy of centuries of violence and murder against Black people in America.
Williams, also known as Khaliifah Ibn Rayford Daniels upon his conversion to Islam, wason death row for more than two decades for the 2001 murder of reporter Felicia Gayle. Williams was convicted of the first-degree murder, robbery and burglary of Gayle, despite DNA evidence gathered at the crime scene failing to tie him to the crimes.
Instead, Williams’ wrongful conviction was based on the testimonies of two witnesses–a jailhouse informant and Williams’ ex-girlfriend–who were financially incentivized to testify against him.
From the time he was sentenced to death to his execution, non-profit public policy organization The Innocence Project worked tirelessly to grant Williams the clemency he so rightly deserved.
“There is far too much uncertainty in this case to allow Mr. Williams to be executed, particularly when the victim’s family believes life without parole is the appropriate sentence,” The Innocence Project wrote on its official website.
Despite widespread support for Williams’ case and a lack of concrete evidence proving his guilt in the murder, Republican Governor of Missouri Mike Parson denied Williams clemency. In a press release before Williams’ execution, Gov. Parson stood firm on the Supreme Court’s decision to execute Williams.
“Capital punishment cases are some of the hardest issues we have to address in the Governor's office, but when it comes down to it, I follow the law and trust the integrity of our judicial system,” Gov. Parson said.
The legitimacy of capital punishment has been brought into question following the tragic outcome of Williams’ case. The death penalty has been used on over 1,600 men and women since its reinstatement nationally in the 1970s, with the race of the defendant and the race of the victim playing a significant role in how the death penalty is administered.
The fact that race heavily determines the outcome of death penalty cases highlights the immoral and corrupt nature of the criminal justice system. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, more than 75% of defendants on death row were sentenced to death if the victim of the crime was white, versus only 13% of death row defendants being executed if the victim was Black. Furthermore, while Black Americans make up only 12-13% of the United States’ total population, approximately 40% of defendants executed since 1976 have been Black. The overrepresentation of Black Americans on death row and racial disparities present in the race of the victims in these death penalty cases reveals to us two things: (1) Whiteness is seen as a criteria of victimhood, meaning that true justice that death penalty cases claim to achieve is impossible if Black people are constantly denied victimhood even in death; (2) The denial of victimhood for Black Americans contributes to their criminalization, so they will almost never be granted redemption regardless of their innocence.
The United States—a country founded upon the principle that murder by the government is unconstitutional—has committed some of the most heinous killings in world history. From the United States’ massacre of millions of Indigenous and Black peoples, to their decades-long support of the violent apartheid regime in South Africa, violence has been a core characteristic of this nation since its very beginnings. There’s a certain hypocrisy in the empire not having answered for the violence it has inflicted on the rest of the world and simultaneously getting to decide whether someone lives or dies all while having blood on their hands. It is evident that the U.S. administers a selective application of justice, and they have no right to continue to allow the inhumane practice of the death penalty to claim the lives of marginalized communities.
A judicial system rooted in the racism and marginalization that our country was built and continues to thrive on is incapable of being reformed. Marcellus Williams’ death reminds us that the United States’ administration of the death penalty deprives Black people of liberty and protection .
Violence and justice cannot coexist, and one must be abolished so that the other can accomplish what it’s meant to do. The Supreme Court’s decision to execute Williams despite evidence proving his innocence shows the United States’ allegiance to upholding the same violence this country was founded on, and abolishing the death penalty is the only way to work toward a justice system that recognizes and values equality for every life.
