A Modern Day Lynching in Missouri

Missouri Republicans and the Conservative Supreme Court ignored the pleas of prosecutors and just executed Marcellus Williams, an innocent Black man. The hoods are off.

“All Praise Be To Allah In Every Situation!!!”

That was the last statement of Marcellus Khalifah Williams, aged 55, who was executed by the State of Missouri on Tuesday evening. The instrument of his death was officially listed as lethal injection, but make no mistake that systemic white supremacy was the real murderer.

The enduring disease of America claimed yet another innocent Black body to satiate the endless rage of insecure racists who desperately want to remove their hoods and take this country back to the 19th century.

Missouri’s GOP Governor, Mike Parsons, and Republican Attorney General, Andrew Bailey, just presided over a modern day lynching. The extremist conservative majority on the Supreme Court gave them extra rope at the last second just for good measure in a 6-3 decision rejecting his request to delay the execution. So much for being pro-life.

The state, led by Republicans, ignored the objections of St Louis prosecutors who supported his claim of innocence and sought to overturn his conviction. They were joined by three original jury members and the murder victim’s own family also supporting calls to vacate Williams’ capital punishment.

Williams was convicted for the 1998 killing of Lisha Gayle, a social worker and former St Louis Post-Dispatch reporter. According to The Innocence Project, “The State destroyed or corrupted the evidence that could conclusively prove [William’s] innocence and the available DNA and other forensic crime-scene evidence does not match him.” Wesley Bell, the Democratic St. Louis prosecutor, filed a motion to overturn his conviction and added, “new evidence suggests that Mr. Williams is actually innocent.”

Again, none of this matters to MAGA and white supremacy in their violent quest for power. Just take a look at Donald Trump who refuses to acknowledge the innocence of the “Exonerated Five” who were unjustly persecuted and lost years of their lives for a crime they didn’t commit. Trump took out an ad in the NY Times calling for their execution. In 2024, he still refused to admit he was wrong and doubled-down at his debate with Kamala Harris.

It seems clemency, mercy and redemption only belong to violent MAGA acolytes. The Missouri Governor pardoned the McCloskey’s, the broke-down suburban Bonnie and Clyde couple who illegally brandished weapons on peaceful BLM protestors. Their belligerence was rewarded by Trump and Republicans with a primetime speaking slot at the 2020 RNC convention. In the summer, Texas Governor Greg Abbott pardoned Daniel Perry, a convicted killer who was serving a 25-year prison for shooting an armed white man attending a BLM protest. So much for “law and order” and “national security.” 

MAGA also adores Kyle Rittenhouse - as long as he supports Trump - who shot and killed two people attending a rally to protest the police shooting of Jacob Black, a Black man who was left paralyzed. The overwhelmingly white violent insurrectionists who gathered on January 6 to assist Trump in his violent coup are praised by MAGA, portrayed as victims of the Deep State by right-wing media, and are promised a pardon by Trump if he wins in 2024. 

Y’all noticing a trend?

In 2020, we already saw another modern lynching when three white men pursued and killed Ahmaud Arberry, who was guilty for running while Black in a Georgia neighborhood. The killers almost escaped scot-free if it wasn’t for a video that was leaked that documented their murder and eventually helped send them to jail. However, in 2024, the murderers of Marcellus Williams will be rewarded by the GOP and sent to elected office.

In Islam we say “From God we come, to God we return” upon hearing of a Muslim’s death. Although Marcellus Williams is now dead, the rest of us must ensure that his legacy and his family receive justice and peace in this life.