A Modern Lynching: The Story of Marcellus Williams

By: Melissa Sanders

If you have ever been enrolled in an English literature class in school, odds are that you have read To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. In the book, Atticus Finch is defending a man by the name of Tom Robinson who was indicted for raping a girl based on a fabricated story. The novel goes on to describe the hardship that Atticus faces in creating a solid defense against Tom for one undeniable reason- he is black. The story takes place in a small town in Alabama, a state notoriously known for its deep-rooted racism. Ultimately, despite a lack of direct evidence and a skillful defense, Tom is ruled guilty by the jury and sent to prison. While Atticus is in the process of an appeal, Tom is murdered in prison; his innocence is not strong enough to keep him alive. This book was written in the 1960s and should be a clear issue of the past. Nearly six decades after this fictional story was written, on September 24, 2024, Marcellus Williams’ life was taken by the state of Missouri through lethal injection.

Williams was convicted in 2001 of murdering a news reporter who had been found dead in her home three years prior. Throughout more than two decades of his imprisonment, he maintained his fight for innocence and continued to do so even in death, with his last words echoing, “Praise be to Allah in every situation!!!”. New DNA evidence had proved that the original murder weapon had been tampered with and held various DNA from those involved in the case. A fight to reevaluate the case in a smaller court for a more in-depth hearing was argued and eventually shot down. Even with the admittance of the trial prosecutor in 2001 dismissing a potential juror because he was black, the Supreme Court denied a stay of execution. After thousands of signatures from the public petitioning against his death, the attorneys on both sides attempting to intervene, and even the victim’s family advocating for life in prison instead, he was shamelessly put to death.

The urgency with which Governor Michael Parsons authorized the killing of an innocent black man should be haunting. The racism that is evident in Marcellus Williams’s case is nothing short of systemic and needs to be thoroughly treated as such. As a country founded on justice and constitutional human rights, we need to vote for just and anti-racist officials at every chance to stop these human rights violations from continuing. At the local level, due to lack of media and fewer voters, each vote is significantly more important in weight, and your single vote can be the difference in electing officials of integrity or not. This election season, complete your due diligence and start within your county and state to research and elect the candidates who will eliminate modern lynchings, and other forms of racism.

Sources:

5 reasons why local and state elections matter. Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce.
(2024, September 10).
https://www.greaterrochesterchamber.com/2024/09/10/5-reasons-why-local-and-state-elections-matter/

Quednow, C. V., & Yan, H. (2024, September 24). A Missouri death row inmate is set to
die today despite maintaining his innocence and efforts to vacate his conviction.
CNN.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/24/us/marcellus-williams-scheduled-execution-date/in
dex.html

Cover Photo Credit: Innocence Project