Editor's Note: Marcellus "Khalifa" Williams' vigil at Hamilton College was organized by the Feminists of Color Collective, with members of the Black and Latine Student Union and Hamilton College Students for Justice in Palestine participating.
At 7 P.M on September 24th a group of students stood in front of Sadove and listened to the 7 chimes of the chapel bell, marking the exact time that Marcellus William was murdered by the Missouri court system (yes, murdered).
Ever hear of a case where the prosecution testifies that the defendant is innocent? Or that a victim’s family advocates for the defendant's innocence? Let’s talk about it:
“Tonight, Missouri will execute an innocent man, and they will do it even though 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,” one of Williams’ attorneys, Tricia Rojo Bushnell, told CNN’s Jake Tapper before the execution.
Say his name: Marcellus Williams
Marcellus Williams | the Missouri Independent
Marcellus “Khaliifah” Williams was accused of first-degree murder of Lisha Gayle in 1998. Williams was accused of breaking into Gayle’s home and stabbing her, ultimately killing her, and stealing some of her belongings. There is no forensic evidence that connected Williams to the knife or scene. Williams - who served as the Imam in his prison, and spent time writing poetry - had his execution halted twice, both times related to DNA evidence. In January 2015, just days before his execution, the Missouri state supreme court granted his attorneys more time for DNA testing on the scene. Later, in August 2017, the governor at the time granted reprieve hours before the execution, citing the DNA testing which showed no trace of William’s DNA on the murder weapon. Despite this, Mike Parson, the Republican governor, still pushed for the execution to proceed.
The definition of a prosecution lawyer is, “a person, especially a public official, who institutes legal proceedings against someone.” In legal cases, the prosecution is the legal side which is bringing the charges against the defendant. Let’s talk about William’s Prosecution. In January, Wesley Bell, the Democratic prosecuting attorney in St Louis, filed a motion to overturn Williams’s conviction. Once again, he cited that there was no DNA evidence that was tying Williams to the murder weapon. The prosecution's office wrote: “Ms Gayle’s 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.”
The prosecution took part in testifying that Williams was innocent. The people who were meant to be bringing charges against him, testified that he was innocent. Think about that. In addition, the office claimed that Williams’ counsel was ineffective and noted that there had been Black jurors improperly removed from serving on the trial.
More time was spent reviewing the DNA reports on the case. Additional testing showed that within the prosecutor's office, the knife had been mishandled and touched without gloves. This made it impossible to determine if William’s’ fingerprints could have ever been on the knife, according to a forensic expert. Williams’s and prosecutors did reach an agreement to halt his execution: “he would plead no contest to first-degree murder in exchange for a new sentence of life without parole.” His lawyers noted that the agreement was not an admission of guilt, but that it was serving as a way to save his life while pursuing the new evidence which proved his innocence. Both the judge, and the victim’s family, signed off on it – however the attorney general challenged it, and the state supreme court blocked it. In addition, the governor rejected a clemency request which emphasized that the victim’s family opposed execution.
It was suggested that there was other evidence indicating he was guilty: testimony from a man who shared a cell with Williams claimed Williams’ confessed, this same man also was testifying to details that had never been made public in the case. In addition, a testimony from a man who shared a cell with Williams and said he confessed, and testimony from a girlfriend who claimed she saw stolen items in Williams’s car. Both of these witnesses were contested as unreliable, because they and had been convicted of multiple felonies and were motivated to testify by a $10,000 reward offer. The prosecution’s office put out a statement saying, “[we] will continue to do everything in our power to save his life. Even for those who disagree on the death penalty, when there is a shadow of a doubt of any defendant’s guilt, the irreversible punishment of execution should not be an option.”
Michelle Smith who is the co-director of Missourians to Abolish the Death Penalty, had worked with Williams since 2021 and said she considered him a mentor. She says, “He’s always in good spirits. He is very spiritual and grounded in his faith. And he always checks on other people. He wanted to know how I’m doing, because that’s just who he is … “He means so much to so many people. He’s a friend, a father, a grandfather, a son. He’s a teacher. He’s a spiritual adviser to so many other young men. His absence would be a great harm upon so many people.”
Read it again: “His absence would be a great harm upon so many people.” Williams’ son told a reporter he was hoping for a “miracle” and would attend the execution: “I’m going to stand there firm and show my dad he’s not alone.” We had over 20 years to rally behind William’s and fight for him. Instead, Black juror’s were removed from his case because “they looked alike” and the judicial system allowed the murder of an innocent Black man. Regarding the execution and capital punishment as a whole, Smith says: “I know people who say: ‘We shouldn’t kill innocent people, but other than that, I believe in the death penalty.’ But if you believe in the system at all, that means you’re OK with innocent people being killed, because the system isn’t perfect. It is going to kill innocent people.”
Gov. Mike Parson had the authority to grant clemency and commute Mr. Williams’ sentence to life without parole and/or stall the execution while the case was being reevaluated to prove William’s innocence. He did not. Williams was murdered at 7pm on Tuesday, September 24th.
That night, while an innocent man was being murdered, students stood outside of Sadove with candles lit in his honor, read some of his poetry, and prayed for him. Candles were lit and students were having a moment of silence right as the chapel signaled that it was 7 P.M – immediately causing students to burst into tears. Williams’ life was celebrated through reading his poetry, taking the time to openly talk about Williams and holding space for students to process the emotional weight of his case.
Hearing Williams’ final statement: "All Praise Be to Allah in Every Situation!!!" students are motivated to fight for awareness of the system that is systematically allowing innocent Black people to be murdered. Williams attorney Bushnell says: “That is not justice, and we must all question any system that would allow this to occur. The execution of an innocent person is the most extreme manifestation of Missouri's obsession with 'finality' over truth, justice, and humanity, at any cost."
This evening we were all witness to Missouri’s legal systems misuse of power to execute an innocent man. Holding the emotions of this case is heavy on students, there are a number of impacts that are being felt. The vigil tonight opened space for students to come together to have silence during the time of execution, and give the opportunity for students to openly speak about what they were feeling, having time together as a community to process the horrors of William’s case.
Officials said that Williams' last meal was chicken wings and Tater Tots. He was visited in his final hours by Imam Jalahii Kacem, who also accompanied him to the execution room.
At 7 P.M an innocent man was murdered by the system that abused its power and engaged with systematic racism to create a space where there was supremacy that allowed an innocent Black man to be murdered by the Missouri government.
Williams will continue to live on through the poetry that he wrote and through the lives of the people that he touched, who will always continue to love him. His absence is a great harm to so many people. As a member of the Hamilton College community I am extending the utmost love to Williams’ family, especially his son, and all of those who are feeling the emotional weight of losing Marcellus “Khaliifah” Williams. He is so loved and you are so loved. We need to do so much better and fix our system to stop tragedies like this from continuing to happen.
the Innocence Project | innocenceproject.org
Marcellus “Khaliifah” Williams should have never been murdered. He will be remembered as a beloved father, a spiritual advisor, valued mentor, and forever hopeful individual.
Here is a QR code, and a link, to a Google Drive containing poems written by Marcellus “Khaliifah” Williams – There will continuously be more added, please read his work. Keep talking about him:
