On Tuesday (Sept. 24), the state of Missouri carried out the execution of Marcellus Williams for the 1998 murder of former newspaper reporter Lisha Gayle, despite prosecutors, social media and the victim’s family asking for his life to be spared.
Williams was put to death by lethal injection at the Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Bonne Terre, Missouri at approximately 6 p.m. local time. Before his death, the 55-year-old Black man issued a statement that read, "All praise be to Allah in every situation!"
Investigators previously discovered that Gayle was stabbed at least 43 times, with 16 wounds to her head, neck, chest and abdomen. Though Williams insisted he was innocent, a jury convicted him of first-degree murder, burglary, armed criminal action and robbery in 2001. According to the Innocence Project, the prosecutor used peremptory challenges to remove several qualified Black jurors from the pool.
In light of his execution, several celebrities and activists have already spoken out. "Holding, never folding, we was on the top tier. Shackled to our ankles, it was like a nightmare," Meek Mill wrote via Instagram, referencing his 2015 track "Ambitionz." The Philadelphia native added, "God bless his soul!"
“RIP Marcellus Williams. [Shaking my head at] this country,” Toosii shared on Twitter. Another user on the platform emphasized, “From Gaza to Marcellus Williams, the state has made it clear that it does not care how many letters you sign [or] how many times you call. These people do not care [about] what you want them to do.”
Approximately 3 hours before Williams would be pronounced dead, JT urged her supporters to call, text and email Missouri Governor Mike Parson: Marcellus Williams faces execution on Sept. 24 for a crime that DNA proves he didn’t commit. Join me, [Innocence Project] and [the Midwest Innocence Project] in taking action to prevent this irreversible injustice.”
Meek Mill has been very outspoken about social justice in the past several years. In July, he joined Solange Knowles, Nick Young and Cardi B in calling for justice for Sonya Massey.