Throughout American history, many innocent Black men were slain, at times outside of the law, through lynching—and other times, through state-sanctioned violence. While the former is shunned as it deprives the accused of any opportunity to defend themselves, the latter is not a well-oiled machine that only punishes the guilty. Since 1973, 1 in 8 people executed in the United States were exonerated. Those who are Black carry an even heavier burden.
One of the most pressing examples is the case of Marcellus Williams, a 55-year-old Black man wrongfully convicted of killing Felicia Gayle, a social worker and reporter, in a 1998 fatal stabbing. Despite DNA evidence proving he was not guilty of the crime prosecutors initially accused him of, the state of Missouri is set to execute him on September 24th by lethal injection unless the court agrees to review this case or he’s granted clemency from the governor. According to the Innocence Project, there are some key things the public should know about this case. For starters, the actual perpetrator, the one who fatally stabbed Gayle in her home, left behind considerable forensic evidence such as “fingerprints, hair, and trace DNA on the murder weapon,” none of which matched Marcellus Williams. Secondly, the initial prosecutor’s case was not rooted in hard evidence. Instead it was anchored by testimony of two witnesses who were promised leniency on their pending criminal charges and reward money. The witnessed provided inconsistent statements. Despite DNA evidence confirming Williams is not the person who killed Gayle, no jury has formally considered this evidence. How did this happen?
Beyond the original mistakes made in the case, recent events have affected the injustice endured by Williams. In August 2017, Governor Eric Greitens “stayed the execution and convened a board of inquiry to investigate the case.” This announcement came through hours before the scheduled execution and after Williams ate his final meal. Based on Missouri law, the stay should have remained in place until after the board concluded its review and published its final report. However, in June of 2023, Governor Mike Parson dissolved the board prematurely, clearing the way for Attorney General Andrew Bailey to set a new execution date. While Williams sued, since the board dissolved without providing a final report, the Missouri Supreme Court dismissed his lawsuit, scheduling the execution for September 24th. This decision conflicts with St. Louis Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell, who attempted this year to vacate the conviction after a special prosecutor they appointed revealed three independent DNA experts concluded Williams’ DNA was not on the weapon. Thus, he “could not have killed Ms. Gayle.”
In January of 2024, the prosecutor’s motion stated that “DNA evidence supporting a conclusion that Mr. Williams was not the individual who stabbed Ms. Gayle has never been considered by any court. This never-before-considered evidence, when paired with the relative paucity of other, credible evidence supporting guilt… casts inexorable doubt on Mr. William’s conviction and sentence.” The prosecuting attorney in the case urged the court to “begin the process of correcting this manifest injustice by [holding] a hearing on the newfound evidence and the integrity of Mr. Williams’ conviction.”
Despite the evidence demonstrating his innocence, the state of Missouri will likely execute this Black man. Many are trying to combat this unjust prosecution, and a petition for those who want to protest this injustice. However, St. Louis County Circuit Judge Bruce Hilton, tasked with reviewing the new evidence, rejected Williams’ attempts to appeal the conviction this week, claiming there was “no basis for a court to find that Williams is innocent.” However, this is unfair since the jury who convicted him was never provided with DNA evidence and thus never allowed to consider that the police arrested and the prosecutors charged the wrong man. More Americans should be aware of this injustice and other innocent individuals suffering on death row. This case highlights the absurdity of claiming our criminal justice system is impartial.
The death penalty triggers a sort of cognitive dissonance in Americans, as many want to avoid the mental discomfort of considering how this system contradicts their personal values. As Wolfgang and Ferracuti suggested, “the use of violence in a subculture is not necessarily viewed as illicit conduct, and the users, therefore do not have to deal with feeling of guilt about their aggression.” Despite very few people being personally involved in each execution, this is done at the expense of the state, using tax dollars. And consequently, this is a collective action, a type of violence perpetuated by many without fear of reprisal. And in that way, the modern-day death penalty operates just as a lynching. The tradition of the gory and explicit brutality of public lynchings, often commemorated as postcards, was traded for a process that benefits from the presumption of legitimacy. But, whether you call it the death penalty or a lynching, killing an innocent Black man is just as wrong, as unethical, and certainly just as brutal.
This post originally appeared on Medium and is edited and republished with author's permission. Read more of Allison Gaines' work on Medium.
Comments
Leave a comment