Even the public prosecutor wanted to prevent his killing. Now Marcellus Williams has been executed by lethal injection in the USA.
A 55-year-old convicted murderer was executed by lethal injection in the US state of Missouri. This was announced by the aid organization Innocence Project, which took on his case.
Marcellus Williams was convicted in 2001 of the murder of a reporter who was found stabbed to death in her home in 1998. Marcellus Williams was charged with robbery and murder. In recent years, however, considerable doubts have arisen about the convicted man’s guilt.
The convicted man’s lawyers had tried in vain to stop the execution. The public prosecutor’s office had also pushed for Marcellus Williams not to be executed and instead to serve a life sentence. The victim’s family had also spoken out against an execution.
Supreme Court rejects motion
The reason for this is, among other things, doubts about the DNA traces on the murder weapon. The convicted man had denied killing the woman.
His execution had already been suspended twice. His lawyers argue that the conviction is primarily based on two unreliable witnesses.
The 55-year-old black man also argued before the country’s Supreme Court that the jury had discriminated against him and judged him with bias because of his skin color – to no avail. A corresponding motion was rejected shortly before the execution.
According to the Death Penalty Information Center, 15 people have been executed in the United States so far this year – including the execution in Missouri.
Last year, the number was 24. So far, 23 of the 50 U.S. states have abolished the death penalty. In several other states, it is de facto no longer carried out.
